


Deep Blue

by spinner33



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Case Work, Character Death: Governor Denning, Daddy Issues, Emo turmoil, Graphic Violence, Lt Rollins makes a very brief appearance, M/M, Mommy Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Space AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-22 09:17:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 41
Words: 121,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8280662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinner33/pseuds/spinner33
Summary: This is Hawaii 5-O set in space, with lasers, and hovercrafts, and sexy ties, and plenty of police work to keep a lonely, detective sergeant haole and his shell-shocked, taciturn boss busy.  Picture that the human race has left Earth, and dispersed onto distant planets, where they continue to carry on with murder, death, destruction, and chaos -- all those things that humans do best.





	1. The Lone Figure

Every morning, the lone figure was there in the courtyard before the governor’s palace, standing at attention, eyes straight ahead. The elements battered him, and so did the people around him. Some ignored him – walked around him like he wasn’t even there. Others threw insults, or stones, or rotten food. The man did not respond, regardless of the abuse he received. He bore up insult and injury alike without flinching. 

When evening came, and the humid night spread herself wantonly over the city, only then did he slink away, a shadow in a tattered black cloak melting into the darkness around him. When he passed through the crowds, hiding his face in his hood, some spat at him and hurled invectives. Others held their children closer to their sides, and avoided eye contact. 

A week passed, then two weeks, then three. Before Danno realized it, a couple months had passed, one day blending into the next in a long train of monotony and misery. Then one morning he entered the quad on the way to work at the palace, and the lone figure wasn’t there. 

Danno froze, unsure what to do. He gaped in wonder at the space where the stranger should have been. The lone figure had been his one constant, the one thing he could count on. This unexplained absence burned unreasonably in Danno’s chest. It was impossible to concentrate the entire day. Danno returned to the windows time and again – worrying, waiting, and hoping. He didn’t sleep a wink the entire night. 

The next morning, the stranger was back, a shade more tattered and bruised. Danno’s entire body flooded with relief. Instead of taking the perimeter, passing around behind the statues of heroes and godheads which flanked the courtyard, Danno walked right through the center of the perfect cobblestones. Truth of it was, he practically ran straight for the man.

The stranger had seemed big from a distance, but he was downright intimidating up close. He was not as starved as Danno had thought. Lean, yes, but not starved. The man was at least half a foot taller than Danno. His nose has been broken more than once. His full mouth was hidden under a bristly beard. His lips were pulled to a thin, threatening line, like a red gouge out of his bruised face. The lone figure’s eyes were hazel-blue, and not unlike ocean water in bright sunlight, or expensive gems throwing off internal fire. Those eyes seemed out of place on such a rough and intimidating man. He was all muscle and menace. This stranger was a killing machine – someone who could execute all manner of deadly violence on command. 

“Missed you yesterday. Rough night?” Danno questioned, voice quaking. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him. Wasn’t sure what had prompted him to finally speak to the man. Only that he couldn’t continue to walk past him and say nothing. To do so would have been unforgivable. 

The stranger did not acknowledge Danno’s presence, or the offer of sympathy. He held his head high, and kept his eyes straight ahead. It was a military stance, one he had probably held for hours at a time, for years on end. If not for the unkempt beard and filthy clothes, Danno would have mistaken him for one of the many soldiers who came here to Hawaii for shore leave, or who were stationed at nearby Pearl Hickam Base. 

Danno cleared his throat, and worked up a faint smile as he searched for words. His hands moved around as he stammered and sputtered. 

“Living on Hawaii might seem like a dream come true to everyone else in the universe. But once you’ve seen the darker side of paradise, the sight of palm trees and blue ocean can send a chill up your spine.” 

The hazel-blue eyes finally dropped to Danno, and the mouth pulled tighter with tension. As the stranger turned his head, a thick black-brown braid fell over his shoulder, tracing down his broad chest. There were long wires plaited through the hair, and a cylindrical piece of metal holding the end. As the weighted end swung, it caught the light at the perfect angle to blink in Danno’s eyes. 

“I missed you yesterday,” Danno began again. 

The other man’s face betrayed uneasiness. He was convinced that Danno was making light of him, and he was not happy. Danno worried that he had chosen the wrong words. Everyone in the loose confederation of nearby planets, all people descended from Old Earth, learned the standard universal tongue (SUL) in school. Each culture also spoke their own local languages planet-side. Depending on the system, you might need to know words from several languages to get by. Danno was new to this planet, new to this system. He had stuck steadfast to speaking SUL, not as an insult to the local culture, but because he felt lost in a sea of unfamiliar words. Being unable to express himself was Danno’s own private hell. He wasn’t one of those guys who could bottle away his feelings and fears. He needed to talk, to express himself, to get his feelings out. SUL was Danno’s life-raft in the endless ocean of the unknown and the unfamiliar. 

Danno stood side-by-side with the lone figure, and peered into the distance as the other man was doing. All he could see was street after street, house after house, the varied residences and businesses which climbed the base of this hill, poor supplicants at the feet of the ornate palace. Every street in this part of the expansive city intersected here with the courtyard. You could watch everyone come and go from this point. 

Danno dropped back to his soles. Had the stranger chosen this spot to stand on purpose? But why?

“Are you waiting for someone?” Danno asked. He wobbled, momentarily losing his balance. The stranger’s right arm shot out and steadied Danno. The arm was like a steel bar covered with fur and velvet. The powerful hand ghosted over his back, and was gone the next second. 

Danno stared down to make sure he was on stable ground, and noticed the stranger was wearing scorched and scarred combat boots with uneven laces. The boots were covered in dried blood splatters and greenish mud. Danno was more than familiar with blood evidence, high-velocity spatter marks, and so forth. There were advantages and disadvantages to being a detective sergeant with the Interstellar Law Enforcement Fraternity (ILEF). Although he was working for the governor on Hawaii now, he maintained his ILEF rank and loose connections to that former life. Danno knew that this guy had been wearing these boots during a close quarters combat situation where someone had lost a lot of blood. The question was whether it had been him or the other guy. 

“You mustn’t speak to me,” the figure warned. He spoke SUL with perfect inflection and cadence. Danno beamed happily. The stranger frowned coldly at him until the smile faded. 

“Why not?” Danno wondered. Hazel-blue eyes studied him warily. 

“You new here?” the stranger demanded. 

“Great deduction,” Danno mocked, studying himself as the stranger’s eyes flowed up and down the smaller man’s dark blue ceremonial robes. Underneath he wore sleek pants and a dress tunic. Danno’s work clothes were topped off with a touch of home – a decorative neck ornament twisted in an intricate knot at the hollow of his throat, and laid perfectly down the middle of his chest to reach his waist. The stranger’s penetrating eyes focused on the neck ornament. It was one of Danno’s favorite ties because it had been a gift from his daughter, and it matched his bright blue eyes. But then again, every tie she had ever given him was a favorite. The stranger seemed to want to toy with the neck ornament, reach for it, adjust it. 

The stranger’s eyes dropped finally to Danno’s shoes. A derisive smile graced his mouth for a millisecond before it pulled taut again. Danno unknowingly echoed the tiny smile. Unlike the slippahs most of the populace wore here, leather soles with thin straps over and between the toes, Danno’s feet were cradled all around with supple leather stitched together to create a flat pocket which protected the entire foot. The loafers weren’t practical here, but he couldn’t bear to part with them. They were better than blood-stained combat boots, weren’t they? 

“You a haole?” the stranger questioned. 

Haole. Outsider. There were a few words Danno had learned, and that was the one he hated the most. 

“I’m not from Hawaii,” Danno confirmed grumpily. “I’m from…” 

“Jersey?” the stranger questioned, tilting his head. Danno lit up. 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You must not speak to me, or acknowledge me. I’m poino.”

“Why can’t I speak to you?” 

“You will incur the wrath of gods.” 

Danno cackled like a chipmunk on a sugar high, and the stranger fumbled for words this time, eyes betraying confusion and hurt at Danno’s humorous response. 

“It’s no laughing matter. I am being punished for my transgressions,” the man explained more slowly. 

“Aren’t we all, babe?” Danno chuckled as he patted the man’s closest forearm. “Aren’t we all?” 

A storm brewed in the dark-haired man’s face, not unlike the tempestuous clouds on the horizon. Rain would come soon to drench the morning, and to make the afternoon swelter. The stranger took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. Took another. Clenched his fists as if he wished to take Danno by the throat. 

“Buddy, I’ve got news for you. The gods have been punting my ass around for thirty-five years. I figure I’ve saved up enough ‘wrath of gods’ to talk to you non-stop for, like, a decade,” Danno grinned happily, jostling back and forth as he spoke. The stranger looked worried, like maybe that was Danno’s actual plan – to talk non-stop for a decade. 

“You must not be seen offering me kindness or succor,” the stranger cautioned. 

Danno frowned again. “Says who?” 

“Leave me. I beg you,” the stranger growled. 

“Will I be punished if I talk to you?”

“Yes,” the stranger insisted with unequivocal certainty. 

“By whom?” Danno demanded.

“The gods.” 

“What else could the gods possibly do to me?” Danno snorted. 

“Do not tempt the gods. They are vengeful and creative,” the stranger promised, gesturing up with one hand. Danno’s eyes went skyward in concern, and he hoped the stranger didn’t misinterpret the gesture as an impatient eye roll. 

“Talk to me, babe. What heinous crime have you committed?” Danno questioned in rapid-fire. He was starved for interaction, and couldn’t stop himself. 

“You must not be kind to me.” 

“I’m not afraid of the gods, or anyone else,” Danno promised. 

“Go. Away,” the stranger said more clearly, more sharply. Danno prided himself on his obstinate nature. It was going to take more than a rumbled warning to make him give up. Now that he had gotten the man talking, Danny wasn’t going to stop. He was anxious and eager to keep going. 

“Are you a thief? A slanderer? A smuggler? A spy?” 

“I was a soldier.” 

Danno nodded solemnly. So did this guy’s problems stem from PTSD from his military service? 

“Being a soldier isn’t a crime.” 

“Depends on your perspective,” the stranger responded grimly.

“What crime did you commit? Who is punishing you?” 

“Granny punishes me.” 

The dark-haired man gestured towards the statue of the most powerful local goddess. Queen of the Lightning, Fire, and Volcanoes, She stood guarding the palace, facing the ocean, gazing sternly down from these dramatic mountains into the sea beyond. She held a war spear in her left hand, and cupped an eternal flame in her right palm. Danny could pick out Her faithful in a crowd – they would not bypass Her statue without acknowledging Her. Some offered a nod. Some offered a dip from the waist. Others offered their whole bodies in a grand gesture, sweeping the ground with their hand before rising again. They never called Her by her real name, Pele. They only referred to the goddess as ‘Granny’. 

“How did you offend Granny?” Danno wondered. 

“I survived,” the man said. He bit his mouth closed, and lowered his eyes. He locked away the words on his tongue, and locked away his emotions too, into a tight metal box brimming with decades’ worth of hurt. Danno could almost hear the box clang shut. 

Danno nodded in sympathy again. He felt drawn to this man for no reason he could explain. Perhaps he sensed a fellow lost soul in need of a friend.

“You’re waiting here until She comes for you? Until the next eruption?” Danno wondered.

“She will not come for me Herself. She will send an emissary.” 

“Who?” 

“Death.” 

“Oh,” Danno whispered. He knew instinctively that he shouldn’t laugh, no matter how ridiculous the man’s insistence might have sounded. The stranger’s eyes tested him, narrowed against mockery. Or was it something else? Was he judging Danno’s reaction? Was he saying what he thought Danno expected to hear? The detective felt sorry for the soldier, but he also couldn’t shake the feeling he was being snowed. 

“I pray Death comes soon, to take me to my brothers and sisters-in-arms,” the lone stranger added. 

Danno glanced around the courtyard at the other heroes and godheads. Death was not depicted among them. Sadness choked away Danno’s reply. Even if he didn’t believe the cockamamie statement about ‘waiting for Death’, that second statement had been heart-felt. This man was clearly suffering from post traumatic stress and survivor’s guilt. 

Danno had seen that before in soldiers he had dealt with in law enforcement. Scenarios unfolded in his brain – horrible jungle battles on distant planets. Or perhaps a skirmish between those sleek fighter jets which raced back and forth, spewing lasers at one another. Was this man the lone survivor of a mission gone wrong? Why had his life been spared when all the others had perished? Questions welled up in Danno, all threatening to spill out at once. 

“Why do you seek to die?” Danno whispered, warming up his psychological tactics. They could be used to break a suspect, or they could be used to soothe a shaky witness. Trouble was, Danno couldn’t decide which category this guy should go in, which box to check off. 

“I wish to join my ohana.” 

Ohana. Another word Danno had heard often. He had also lost his family recently too, though thank goodness not to death. Sympathy for the stranger thrummed through his soul. They were both in the same boat, apparently – adrift and alone here in Hawaii. 

“Have you nothing to live for? Are you not…” 

The man waited for Danno to find the right word.

“Are you not connected?” Danno asked, patted his hands together. “No family? No wife? No husband?” 

The man tilted his head in puzzlement. This was not going well. Why was this such an alien concept – belonging to another person? 

“Betrothed? Married?” Danno continued, pointing to the third finger on his left hand. Each word stung him. He caressed the empty digit, and hunger and sorrow gnawed at him. Less than six months ago, Danno’s beloved wife had tossed him aside for a richer and more powerful man. Danno had failed to meet her ambitious expectations, and she had replaced him. She had dissolved their marriage, and taken his child, and moved to this far away planet. Danno had cashed out his savings and his retirement to buy passage here, to be close to his child. 

“I am not joined with another, if that is what you’re asking,” the lone figure said, noting the pale skin on Danno’s finger where his ring should have been. The stranger drank in the emotions coursing through Danno’s face – the pain, the anger, the betrayal, and the sadness too. Sympathy flittered through the stranger. 

“Oh, good,” Danno breathed, then caught himself as the other man’s face blurred from sympathy to irritation. “No, not good like that. I mean…. Are you for hire?” 

“You wish to hire me to join with you?” the other man’s voice started deep but rose as he tensed. He was clenching his fists again. His shoulders tightened. 

“Babe, whoa, relax,” Danno chuckled nervously as he raised both hands in a defensive, apologetic gesture. He unconsciously licked his lips, and let his eyes travel up and down the man’s body, and then he realized that was not helping clear up the misinterpretation of his words. A momentary flicker of surprise, confusion, and not a little bit of concern washed the hazel-blue eyes studying him. 

“If you seek physical companionship, the brothels are six blocks in that direction. They cater to all tastes. Leave me in peace,” the stranger begged as he loosened his tight stance. 

“Babe, I’m sorry. I misspoke. I’m…I….I’m not asking to join with you. Not that I don’t think you’d be…. I’m sure you’d be fabulous…. I’m….just… going bury myself if I keep talking. I’m sorry. I usually communicate better in SUL,” Danno squirmed as he fought for words. 

“Oh, do you?” the stranger chortled. Danno stiffened with wounded pride, and opened up with a defensive flurry of words. 

“Look, Jerkface, I’m not being a wise-ass, and I’m not asking you to join with me. I know it’s none of my business, but you can’t spend the rest of your life standing around in this courtyard, waiting for Granny to rain death and punishment down on you. What the hell is the matter with you? Do you need help? I’ll pay for it. What I’m asking is…..You’re standing here. You’re waiting. For what? For Death to come claim you? Because you survived when the rest of your patrol, your friends, they all perished? You’re in mourning. You’re feeling guilty because they’re all dead, but you’re still alive. I get that.” 

“ ‘You get that’?” the man rumbled. He was turning a dangerous red. “So glad you understand,” he drawled with restrained anger. Or maybe he was blushing, because Danno’s shouting was drawing a lot of attention from the crowd.

“Maybe Granny has got bigger plans for you. Did you ever think about that? Maybe you aren’t dead because She needs you! What if She is the one who urged me to talk to you today, and not just walk past like everyone else? Maybe She doesn’t want you dead! Who the hell are you to decide? Maybe She needs you! Maybe I need you!” Danno shouted, poking a forefinger into the stranger’s beefy bicep. 

“Granny sent you to save my life?” the soldier crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at Danno with rising irritation on his scruffy face. 

“I don’t usually go in for that religious mumbo-jumbo, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, is it?” 

“I’m beginning to understand why the gods keep punting your ass around,” the stranger suggested with malicious mischief in his tone.

“What if I could give you a job, a purpose, something to do besides standing around here all day?” Danno offered. 

“You wish to offer me a job?” the stranger lit up. 

“Yes!” Danno exclaimed excitedly. He clasped both hands around one of the man’s arms. The stranger pulled away from the touch, and his face fell again. 

“I do not sell sexual favors,” the stranger frowned. 

Danno’s eyes got wide again as he flushed beet red.

“I’m not asking you for sex! I work for the governor, right there in the palace. You’re an ex-military guy. You’ve got experience keeping places safe. Am I right? I can always use a man who knows how to handle himself in an emergency situation. I’m sure we could find a job for you,” Danno said. 

“You wish to hire me to protect you?”

“No! Not to protect me!” Danno bristled angrily, arms rising up in the air. “You are as dense as a brick wall! The governor!” 

“You wish to hire me to protect the governor?” the stranger asked as his brows bunched up, giving him the expression of a befuddled bird of prey. 

“Yes! To protect the governor, and to fight crime on Hawaii.” 

The stranger’s brow smoothed, and his mercurial eyes glinted with amusement. His tight mouth lifted on the edges. He was fighting laughter. He ducked his head, and scratched at the beard overwhelming his chin and jaw. Part of Danno wanted to reach out and touch that mess, see whether it was soft or wiry. That of course led him to wonder if the guy could grow a beard like that, how freaking hairy was the rest of his body? 

“Will there be danger? The possibility of an honorable death?” the man hoped. 

Danno considered the edifice before him with a forlorn sigh. Governor Denning was waiting on the top balcony with a concerned scowl on his face visible even at this distance. His flowing white robes were like a beacon on a lighthouse. Could the governor have been more irresponsible with his own personal safety? And what did he look so angry about? Now that he thought about it though, Danno noticed that many of the people passing by them in the courtyard were giving him dagger-like stares of disdain and disapproval.

Danno wanted to tell the stranger that he could count of loads and loads of danger and excitement. But there was absolutely zero chance of that. Danno’s entire stint as second-in-command of the governor’s special task force had been uneventful. Weeks and weeks of dreary tedium, boring cases with drug dealers and smugglers, endless hours of standing by on security detail as the governor conducted political meetings, greeted dignitaries, negotiated treaties and trade agreements with neighboring planets, and schmoozed with the galaxy at large. Not so much as a threatening letter had gotten through with the governor’s special task force in place. 

This job was so boring that the head of the special task force never came to work. Not one of the palace guards, nor the city police, nor the HPD, nor the ILEF officers, nor the governor’s own retinue of personal bodyguards, had ever seen the guy who relayed their orders by computer missive each morning. Everyone knew the team leader was keeping an eye on them though. He would comment on their daily activities, detailing weak spots, giving suggestions on where they should concentrate their efforts. 

No one, but no one, had ever actually laid eyes upon the head of the special task force. No one ever called him by name either, as if saying the syllables might conjure a vengeful, celestial demon. They called him “Boss” with great deference, or they called him “Uhane”. He was a ghost. He had never walked through the front door of the palace, or crossed through the security gate, or appeared in his office during daylight hours. No security footage of him existed. Danny had asked all kinds of questions, but the governor was very mum on the topic. 

“If you can’t spot him, then no one else will either.” 

Absentee boss aside, what Danno was offering was likely going to bore the stranger into a catatonic state. This job would never be as exciting as storming an enemy citadel with guns blazing, lasers at the ready, dipshit colonists waiting to be rescued. But what Danno needed was…what? A dependable translator? A companion? A friend? Something he had yet to find on this godforsaken, lonely planet. 

“Babe! I risk death every other day,” Danno purred happily, hands jumping with emphasis. 

The dark-haired man’s interest was piqued, but then skepticism dimmed his bright eyes. Either he didn’t believe Danno, or he was about to play hard to get. Or perhaps he had trusted too easily in the past, and he had been burned. Life sometimes had a way of beating the trust right out of good people. Danno could feel the doubt and the loneliness in the stranger, not unlike himself, warring like the approaching storm clouds. 

“I can pay you well, plus room and board,” Danno softened his voice, and sweetened the deal. 

“It is forbidden to offer me money. What don’t you get about poino?” the exasperated man muttered. 

“Who says I can’t give you money?” Danno demanded. The stranger’s eyes landed on the goddess, and jumped back Danno. “Okay. If Granny says I can’t give you money, I won’t pay you. But food? Right? I can give you food? A place to sleep? A beer or two? Might be too early in the day for alcohol. What about coffee? Is that permitted? Coffee?” 

“I do like coffee,” the stranger warmed up again. 

“Have you tried the Kona?” Danno whispered conspiratorially, as though recommending the best illicit substance. 

“Once or twice,” the stranger said shyly. 

“Let me set you up with a job, and you and I, we will grab a Kona every morning, right here.” 

The stranger poured out a thousand-watt smile which made his eyes crinkle. There it was, that flicker of hope, that flicker of need. His bright white, straight teeth struck Danno as odd for a homeless ruffian. 

“You’re very persistent. I like that,” the stranger said. 

“Is that a yes?” Danno beamed back. 

“Will there be a lot of danger?” 

“Loads of danger,” Danno lied most sincerely. “Why do you keep asking?” 

“The only way I can redeem myself in Granny’s eyes is to join my ohana, to die an honorable death in battle.” 

“Oh,” Danno gulped. ‘That can’t be good’, he thought to himself. 

The lone figure glanced at the goddess. Did Granny hold the answer? The man closed his eyes and bowed gracefully to her. The flow of his body was like an undulating wave dipping clear to the stones. Then he straightened up, and faced Danno again. 

“I am ready to meet my death. Lead on.” 

Danno gulped down his fears as to what he was getting himself into with this guy. He had opened the door. He couldn’t close it now. Fear started to gnaw at his intuition. Something about the way the stranger had said that made Danno concerned and protective and sad. 

“I promise you won’t regret this,” Danno offered, working up an anxious smile.

“I won’t, but you might,” the stranger replied cryptically as he pulled up his pitiful bag of belongings, and stalked behind Danno towards the cool shade of the palace. Eight bells in the morning, and it was already well past 100 degrees!

Danno watched their shadows stretch and mingle together on the cobblestones, blanketed by the hypnotic swish and swirl of the stranger’s cloak. People parted out of their path, eyes wide with surprise and fear. Danno felt like he was escorting a celebrated dignitary, or maybe like he had a dangerous jaguar on a leash.


	2. Pineapple Head and Kamaaina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah, passing through security gates. Isn't that always fun? Nothing like being naked and vulnerable in front of ten strangers!

“It’s okay, Meka. He’s with me.”

Danno strutted through the security gate inside the entrance on the ground floor of the governor’s palace. He fished in his pockets for his hand weapon and his personal communications device (percom). He couldn’t help but notice the uneasy stares from the palace guards, particularly from Meka. Danno flashed his badge and shield, first to the guards, then to the camera. He chucked everything into the plastic bin, then slid it through the security gate to be hand-inspected by the guards. 

Danno hated the palace security program. This was the one and only entrance into Iolani Palace. All other doors were exit-only. The cams were supposed to scan your face as you went through the entrance gate, and adjust for every person’s height. The accompanying computer program was supposed to use facial recognition software to identify every person who walked through the gate. IN THEORY, these two systems working together should have produced a complete visual record of all persons coming into the governor’s palace. Keeping this place secure should have been a walk in the park. 

Unfortunately, reviews of daily footage proved this cam had a mind of its own. When Danno passed through, the cam didn’t adjust automatically. It didn’t matter how fast or how slow Danno walked through the gate. All that was visible was the top of his swept-up, two-tone, dark and blond hair. Pineapple Head. Meka had uttered the phrase on Danno’s first walk through the security gate on his first day. The nickname had stuck with him like poop on his comfy loafers. 

Danno’s swept-back, two-tone, slightly-teased hairdo was styled to accentuate his height an inch or two. Yes, he was a little sensitive on the topic. Most of his bluster was an effort to reinforce his masculine aura. It was true that the top of his head, the part visible in the cam’s field of vision, did resemble a ripening pineapple. But that was no reason at all for Meka to have snatched cam footage of Danno, or to have digitally-inserted the necessary green spikey plant top hovering above Danno’s head. It was even less reason to have printed a hundred copies of the digitally-enhanced pic, and posted a BOLO all over the building. ‘Have You Seen This Man?’

Every time Danno stepped through the gate, he could almost hear the guards whispering ‘Pineapple Head’. They didn’t have to say it aloud any more. All they had to do was smile at him. He knew on some level that giving him a nickname, and all the gentle ribbing, it was probably a sign of affection and an attempt to make nice with the haole. But Danno wasn’t going to condone any mockery about his size or his hair. Especially if that meant comparing him to his mortal nemesis – the pineapple. 

There was no joking around this morning though. Meka was busy giving Danno’s new companion the evil eye. Danno was relieved that someone else was in their sights today. In Meka’s defense, the stranger did not make the best first impression. First there was his bruised face and that frenzied beard. There was an undeniable aura of danger floating around him like a dark cloud. He was also wafting a very raw stench. Danny decided it must be a combination of sleeping in trash-strewn alleys, eating discarded fish heads, and being unable to bathe or brush his teeth on a regular basis. Except that his teeth were very bright white and straight... 

The most unsettling thing about the guy was that tattered, hooded cloak. He was sweeping around like the manifestation of Death, unsettling people on purpose, and enjoying every minute of it. Like he was playing a role and relishing people’s reactions. Danno’s detective senses prickled again with suspicion. It was that mega-watt smile, and the air of mischief, which were setting off Danno’s radar. 

“He’s with me,” Danno repeated firmly. 

Meka bristled but obeyed. It had not set well with him that Governor Denning had chosen an off-worlder as second in command, and a ghost as the head of the security task force. But Meka wasn’t going to piss in his own water dish. He knew this was a great job, even if he did have to obey orders from a haole and a ghost. Meka motioned the stranger up to the gate. Danno stepped through and waited on the other side. Tucked away his badge and shield. Holstered his hand weapon. Smoothed his hair. He hoped he was conveying to the stranger that it would be painless and over very quickly. The man's gloomy expression said he knew otherwise. 

“Remove your weapons, and put them in this bin,” Meka ordered. 

Two of the other guards came from nearby posts because Meka shot them silent commands. Even with five guards clustered close, Danno had to wonder if it would be a fair fight. The stranger took off his outer cloak, and laid it down in the bin. It clanked and shimmered in a way which suggested it was not entirely made of cloth. Another wave of body odor wafted around him. His paper-thin black undershirt had no sleeves, and everyone’s gazes were automatically drawn to the skin beneath. He had tattoos across both biceps, layers of tattoos over each other really. Elaborate, fantasy-inspired faces and figures, whirls of smoke, geometric shapes, and brilliant colors. But if you glanced from a different direction at the right shoulder, there was a military emblem and an ID underneath. All soldiers had their military branch and ID stenciled onto their skin. Danno recognized the Navy anchor crossed with a trident, and could make out numbers which had not been obliterated by the layers of subsequent tattoos. 

The man raced past the cam in two steps, not giving it time to focus on him. Red and white lights lit up all over the gate, like a patrol craft racing full tilt through traffic in hot pursuit. 

“Step back, and remove all metal objects from your person,” Meka insisted. 

“I can’t,” the stranger grumbled. Danno carried the plastic bin over to him. 

The stranger pulled a pair of small metal sticks from one of the many pockets along the legs of the dark pants he wore. The guards stared at the sticks as the stranger put them delicately in the bin. Danno thought of all the ways you could hurt someone with ten-inch, pencil-thin, pointed instruments like that, and he shuddered. The stranger removed the metal casing and wire from his braid, and his hair started to unravel in dark waves which tempted Danno’s fingers. Was he smelling coconuts? As the wires and metal casing rolled sideways, Danno realized it was the detonation device for a bomb. Harmless, since it wasn’t attached to any explosives. It sent a shiver up Danno’s spine though. 

“Is that everything?” Danno wondered. The stranger shook his head no, eyes narrowing with embarrassment. Like a pouting child, he slid his long fingers into another pocket, and produced a pair of live grenades. He dug into a third pocket and returned with a military-grade percom, dropping it into the bin. The device was newish, but it was held together with tape and wires. The screen was cracked. The back was half melted. 

Danno watched from Meka’s side of the gate, fighting a smile as the stranger went for yet another pocket, and came back with a palm-sized gob of plastic explosives. He retrieved three knives, each one larger than the next, setting them into the bin too. That probably wasn’t everything dangerous on his person, but that he had only divested himself of the metal items which might set off alarms. 

Meka spoke up again. “Pause in the gate long enough for the cam to read you.” 

The stranger obeyed unhappily, prowling back a step or two. The alarms were still picking up a considerable amount of metal in and around his person. He looked anywhere but directly into the camera. Meka refocused with each movement. Visual systems weren’t getting a fix on him. 

“You need to remove all metal from your person,” Meka cautioned again. 

“Turn on the x-ray,” the stranger grumbled. 

Danno’s hair stood up on his neck when Meka flipped the readings from visual to x-ray. The other guards crowded around for a better view of the screen. There wasn’t a single part of the stranger’s body which hadn’t endured an injury, but it was his right side which made Danno catch his breath in horror. The man must have taken a crushing impact at one point. Perhaps he had been pinned in a wrecked ship? Or maybe he had fallen out of a ship? 

His right scapula, parts of his clavicle, and some of his ribs had been either replaced or reinforced with artificial bone grafted together with natural bone. The artificial bone material glowed blue on the x-ray while the bones were white. The prosthetic parts must have explained the metal readings on the scanners. Perhaps the artificial material had metal in it? The replacement parts fanned out from his shoulder and ran down along his spine. His right forearm was scraped and scarred because his bones were fake from elbow to wrist. His right wrist and some of his finger bones had been replaced as well. 

And his skull? Danno gulped. It was impossible to tell from the outside, but the x-ray showed a partial cap reinforcing the right front of his cranium. The protective plate reached down under and around his right eye. There was a slight ripple, an indentation under his eye, as if his right orbital socket was just a hair or two lower than it should have been. If his head had required partial reconstruction, that certainly explained his crooked nose! 

Meka whispered native words Danno didn’t understand but which the stranger clearly knew. The man was pacing like an angry panther in a cage in that tiny security gate. 

“You done staring at me yet?” the man growled, back in angry jaguar mode. Danno imagined him with a thrashing tail and bared fangs. 

“Please, sir, look straight into the cam,” Meka requested. Danno did a double-take at the reverent and pleading tone the palace guard was now using. 

The stranger reluctantly levelled his chin at the cam, and let it focus on his face. The guards were all closing in to stare at the screen, breathing down Danno’s neck, giving him the chills. Meka was suddenly flustered and pink. Something unusual on the screen caught Danno’s eyes. There was a glint of golden metal on the man’s inner thigh as he turned again. He was shielding his crotch with the right hand. The glint had been shaped like a police shield. Did he have a badge tucked into his briefs? Meka puffed up with delight, and quickly flipped from x-ray to visual scan again before Danno could tell for sure what he had seen.

“You can step through. No worries,” Meka beamed, all smiles suddenly. 

The computer had initiated the facial recognition software program, and faces flashed past. It was trying to identify the stranger, and had fallen straight into the military files. It had even isolated the numbers on his Navy tattoo. Meka casually turned off the search mid-stream. Danno’s radar went wild. What in Nine Hells was going on here? Meka patted the darkened screens.

“Aw, man. Glitches again? We gotta get someone to look at that,” he complained.

“Yes. You do,” the stranger agreed as he flew out of the security gate, and collected his bin of items. He had managed to slide the pitiful cloth bag in without putting it through the security x-ray. Whatever was in there wasn’t metal. As the stranger collected the bag, Meka meekly lifted out his cloak. He held it slightly out of range, and examined the man’s hand when he reached for the garment. Meka was very interested in the burn mark on the stranger’s right palm. 

“You’re Kamaaina. You’re Koa too. You belong to Granny?” Meka asked. 

The stranger’s face went sad with memories. His shoulders hunched in shame. 

“I mean no disrespect by asking,” Meka offered. 

“None taken,” the stranger promised, sliding back into his cloak. Part of the hem whipped through the gate, and alarms began to flash and tingle. Was the cloak reinforced with metal strands? The stranger pocketed his grenades and his percom, and twirled the sticks around before tucking them away too. He twined his braid back together with the detonator and wires. He picked up his knives and stowed them, and then stared at the gob of plastic explosives. He gave Meka a nervous glance, certain that at least was about to be confiscated. 

“No, Koa. It’s all good. You just behave yourself while you’re inside the governor’s palace,” Meka cautioned as if chiding a miscreant child. The stranger put away the plastic explosives, and looked at his right palm, to the burn scar in the middle. 

“I was Koa, once upon a time.”

“No such thing as ‘was’. If Granny chooses you, you always belong to Her,” Meka said. He held out a limb in offering. They shook hands, and Meka was staring the man up and down with new eyes. 

“You’ve got people waiting,” the stranger commented softly. 

“Yes, sir,” Meka smiled, jumping back to the security gate, waving the next person to step inside. 

The stranger hurried for the stairs, desperate to escape from the uncomfortable scrutiny. The rest of the guards hurried up to Meka, whispering, eyes dancing, faces flicking back and forth between Danno, the stranger, and Meka. Did Meka know who this guy was? Why had he turned off the facial recognition search? Danno wanted to demand an explanation, but Meka and the other guards were crowded together, all shoulders and unknown words, not willing to let the haole into their conversation. 

The lone stranger was halfway to the next landing before Danno followed. 

“This way,” Danno hurried to catch up with those impossibly-long legs. The two men climbed the left side stairs. Danno watched the stranger struggle to hide a slight limp. It was barely noticeable. 

“You promised coffee,” the stranger murmured back over one shoulder.

“All the coffee you can drink,” Danno smiled. He fumbled with his percom. Some of the old timers called them ‘phones’. It must have been a hold-over word from an Old Earth dialect, from before the Great Collapse and Exodus, before the human race had dispersed into space. Danno snapped a discrete picture of the stranger, and sent it to his own computer, determined to perform the facial recognition search that Meka had interrupted. 

“Follow the smell, hm?” the stranger asked, his mouth stretching out with a genuine smile. Danno was frankly surprised the stranger could smell anything over his own scent, but hey, the allure of Kona drifting down the staircase was intoxicating. 

Danno glanced down the stairs and was surprised to see a phalanx of twenty palace guards were standing on the bottom floor. They were all peering up the stairs, gawking and whispering. Danno heard two words again from Meka, Koa and Kahuna. He was pretty sure Kahuna meant chief, but he wasn’t sure about Koa. The stranger stopped mid-stride. He stared grumpily down through the stairwell opening, and the guards dispersed like a flock of startled seagulls. 

“You’ve seen a bit of action in your time, am I right?” Danno asked, topping the third floor and climbing still. 

“You could say that,” the stranger confirmed. He kept right on climbing too. Like he knew where they were headed. 

“Meka called you ‘Koa’. Is that your name?” 

“No. Koa is Hawaiian. It means ‘soldier’ or 'warrior'.”

“You speak Hawaiian?”

“I am Hawaiian.” 

“You don’t look…” 

“Kamaaina. Born and raised here,” the stranger replied defensively. 

‘Jackpot!’ Danno grinned to himself. This guy was going to be the perfect translator! 

“What is your name then?” Danno wondered out loud as they hit the landing on the top floor. The governor waiting, bouncing on his feet. He was anxious and worried, maybe even a little scared for a second. 

“McGarrett? What are you doing inside the palace? Is something wrong?”

Danno blinked at the familiarity, and the use of a proper name. He was thrown aback that Governor Denning had come out of his office to greet the two of them. 

“Sorry, sir,” the stranger stammered, withdrawing with a subservient bow. “I know I shouldn’t be here.” 

The two men exchanged a glance, and Governor Denning’s face changed from startled to angry. 

“You damned right you shouldn’t be in here! Get out of my sight,” Denning growled, pointing to a spot in front of the doors, like he was addressing a stray cur trespassing on his front lawn. 

“Yes, sir,” the man said, bowing again, sidling up to the wall and staying there. His hood slid down over his face, and his shoulders were quaking. Probably with fear. Denning seemed twice as tall as usual, and three times as intimidating. 

“Williams! Inside!” the governor growled, thumb up and pointing over one shoulder. 

“But, sir?” Danno sputtered. 

“Don’t blame him. He was only doing his job,” the stranger interjected. 

“Shut up, McGarrett. Don’t talk to me. Don’t even look at me! Williams! Get inside! Now!” 

The governor pushed Danno into his office, and grabbed the wooden portal.

“Everyone! Out!” the governor ordered angrily. 

The room emptied in three seconds, a stream of dignitaries, secretaries, and actuaries. Even Jim the coffee guy at the end of the hallway was staring. The stranger further withdrew into the shadows, leaning sideways against the wall, head drooping. The governor had called him McGarrett. Danno’s head was spinning as Denning slammed the office door and whirled on him. The governor knew this guy, and he had let him stand out there in the courtyard all this time? Starving to death? Getting heat stroke? What was the matter with him? Danno was appalled. 

“Get him out of here. Now,” Denning ordered without preamble. 

“What?” Danno stammered. 

“He’s poino.” 

“Governor, I’m surprised at you,” Danno gasped. 

“Williams, you cannot have that man in this building. He brings death and destruction wherever he goes. He’s like the plague. He’s worse than the plague. He’s like the plague and…destruction…and mayhem, all tied up together!” 

“Are you going to let him to stand outside in the sun, and get heat stroke? Starve to death before your eyes? Sir, where is your compassion?” 

“Williams, you’re new around here, so I’ll be patient with you. But you can’t go dragging a poino like him through here. You will offend the locals, and the visitors, and the gods. Most of all, you will offend me.” 

Danno’s spine straightened angrily. 

“It's wrong to leave him there to suffer. We can give him a job. Let him earn some money, at least find him a place to sleep at night. He’s a military man with experience in high-risk situations.”

“No, Williams. He has to go.”

“I respectfully disagree.”

“I don’t care!” Denning shouted again. 

“Sir, I…” 

“Williams, I want him out of the building in five minutes, or else.” 

Danno’s face tightened even further. He wanted to tell the governor right where he could stick the office, the job, and the attitude, but he couldn’t. Danno had responsibilities, and he had his pride. He needed this job. He couldn’t simply speak his mind, tell the governor to kiss his ass, and be done with it. He gave a slow nod. 

“All right. I’ll ask him to leave the building.” 

“Thank you!” the governor snarled. 

“But I think you’re making a big mistake.”

“I don’t care what you think! You weren’t hired to think!”

“On the contrary, Governor. I believe I was hired to think. A highly-decorated, ILEF Detective Sergeant with 87 solved homicides under his belt? That makes me quite the asset here,” Danno retorted, full of wounded pride. 

“Williams, you make McGarrett leave this building, or I will kick your asset out on the cobblestones with him. You understand me?” 

“Yes, sir,” Danno sighed. 

Danno stalked out of the room, and was nearly run over by the herd of people rushing to get back in, now that they would have the governor’s undivided attention and could lobby him for their interests. 

The stranger was peering around the door, eyes gleaming with interest. When he spotted Danno, he slumped back against the wall again, and heaved up a dramatic sigh. The smaller man bowed his head in shame, and walked over to the stranger.

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with him,” Danno sighed. “He demanded that I make you leave the building.” 

“As well he should. I’m cursed. You will anger the gods if you show me kindness.”

“That’s utter bullshit.”

“The gods will rain down their wrath.” 

“Buddy, the gods already took my wife, my child, my house, and my hovercraft. I don’t know what else they could take,” Danno murmured. 

“Your life,” the stranger warned ominously. 

“Mornings like this, they’re welcome to it,” Danno growled. 

“I’m poino. Only Death can redeem me.”

“Bullshit,” Danno muttered again. 

“I’m sorry to have gotten you involved.”

“Not like it’s your fault.” 

“Thanks for letting me cool off. See you around the courtyard.”

“Wait,” Danno begged as the stranger began limping back down the stairs. Danno turned to see if Jim the coffee guy was there, but Jim had pulled down the gate on his small alcove, hiding away from them both. 

“What?” the man shrugged, pulling up his meagre bag of belongings and hugging it against his side under his arm. 

Danno pulled out his wallet, and the stranger frowned. 

“You may not give me money. You will anger the gods,” he reminded gently. 

Danno slid the money back in, and pulled his keycard out. 

“Here. The address is on the card. Go have a shower. A bite to eat.”

“You’re giving me your house key?” the stranger’s wonderful eyes lit up with astonishment. 

“You got other plans for the day?” 

“No, I…. I just…Why do you live in a hotel?” the stranger asked, turning the card over and over in his fingers. He was chortling at his good fortune. 

“I’m kinda between apartments right now.” 

“What happened?” 

“There was a gas explosion at my place a couple weeks ago.” 

The stranger’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Apparently someone buried a pig in a barbeque pit too close to the gas line? I’m told it’s a common practice here,” Danno explained. 

“It wasn’t a pig. It was a wild boar.”

“Whatever the hell they were doing, they levelled the whole apartment complex. Surely you heard about it?” Danno continued to explain. 

“I’m familiar with the imu incident, yes. I read the reports. You’re lucky you weren’t hurt.” 

“I know. Three people were injured.”

“No. I mean. That exploding boar was the best thing that could have happened to you. Those apartments were a dump. Moldy walls. Lead paint. Unsafe water. This isn’t a bad place to crash though,” the stranger observed, wiggling the card. 

“A generous, anonymous benefactor paid for everyone to stay at the Wailea until they could make other arrangements.”

“That was very nice of them. Do you like the place?”

The stranger twirled the keycard in his fingers, and shook his head in disbelief at Danno. That brilliant smile just seemed out of place to Danno. It was the teeth again. The bright teeth and the gorgeous eyes were all wrong. 

“Yeah. I like it. It’s a huge suite. Couple a rooms. I could house my whole family from back home in there.” 

“As head of security, I gotta say, you’re kinda trusting,” the stranger teased. “I could go to your hotel room, rob you blind, throw a wild party, burn the place to the ground?”

“I'm not head of security. Besides, I doubt you’ll do anything of the sort. I already lost everything of value in the explosion. All I got out with were my pictures, and my ties, which I keep in my desk now, and well, you know, the rest is immaterial, as they say,” Danno replied. 

"The way you were giving orders down at the gate, I thought you were the Big Kahuna.” 

“What’s a Kahuna?” Danny played dumb. 

“Chief. Big chief.” 

“No, I’m not the big chief,” Danno blushed bashfully. 

“Are you the Iki Kahuna?” the stranger teased warmly. 

“Call me ‘little’ again, and I’ll take your head off,” Danno warned, fists clenching, stance tightening. Danno knew good and well what Iki meant!

“You’re feisty. That’s good. I like that. It’s not about the dog in the fight. It’s about the fight in the dog. I know who you are, Detective Sergeant Williams. I’ve seen your picture around Iolani Palace. You’re the Pineapple Head.” 

Danno frowned, unconsciously running a hand over the side of his hair. 

“Kiss my haole ass,” Danno murmured playfully. The stranger choked on a tiny laugh before turning serious again. 

“Why do you care about what happens to me, Detective Williams?” 

“How long were you in the Navy?” Danno asked. 

“A lifetime.”

“What were you?” 

“SEALIE.”

“Sea Air Land Interstellar Exploration force? I can believe that,” Danno nodded his approval. “Black Ops?” he wondered. 

“I’d hardly tell you if I were,” the stranger whispered, his tone both ominous and delicious. 

“You must be someone special. They don’t do repairs like that on just any grunt. That’s quite a lot of cha-ching you’re sporting around.” 

The stranger shrugged bashfully. “I ain’t nobody special,” he denied. 

“Injured like that, you must have been out of commission for some time.”

“Yup.” 

“Did they release you on a medical discharge?” 

“Why do you care?” the stranger growled. But that must have been close to the truth. It hurt still, how the Navy had discharged him. It hurt bad. Danno could feel the man reacting to the anguish like a wave of salty water rolling over him, burning his wounds. 

“You put your life on the line for me. You risked your life to make the galaxy a safer place for my family. You deserve better than languishing on this pineapple-infested hell hole, waiting for Death to claim you. You need direction. Purpose. Someone to give a damn about you. Let me help you,” Danno offered.

“That was quite a moving speech,” the stranger retorted. Underneath the bravado was a bashful reticence. “What’s in it for you?” the stranger asked, eyes narrowing. Danno’s smile faded nervously. 

“Does everyone have to have an ulterior motive?” 

“By and large.” 

“How often do people offer you money for sex?” Danno worried, heart in his throat. The stranger’s shoulders went up and down, and his face remained neutral. “It’s nothing like that. I swear. I only wanna help you out. Maybe I’m hoping that if I was in your place, you would do the same for me.” 

“Okay. Out of the goodness of your heart. I just have one question,” the stranger plied. 

“Yeah?” 

“What’s wrong with pineapples?” the stranger grinned playfully. 

“Are you kidding me? I could spend days listing all the reasons why I hate pineapples!” 

“Buddy, you might consider switching to decaf. Mahalo, brah,” the stranger said, wiggling the key card, clapping a hand tentatively on Danno's shoulder. 

“Get out of here before the governor comes back and starts yelling at me again.” 

“Mahalo. I appreciate this,” the stranger said, bowing low to Danno.

“How do I say ‘you’re welcome’?” 

“You just did.” 

The stranger was down the steps and out of earshot before Danno thought to ask him his real name. The governor had called him McGarrett. That was at least a start. The computer should be finished with that search soon. Now Danno had to go face Governor Denning again, and find out why he had a bug up his ass about this guy. First thing Danno did though was pull out his percom, and send a missive to his Ghost Boss. 

_/Sir: I hired a new guard by the name of McGarrett. When I get his particulars, I’ll send them to you. DW/_

 

 


	3. Reflections

Danno’s office in the governor’s palace was filled with beautiful wood and plump, leather furniture, and it was brimming with state-of-the-art computer surveillance equipment and software. Fifth floor. Biggest suite. Only the best for the governor’s special task force. There were glass doors and windows all around, and the view from here was second to none. There were times when Danno felt embarrassed to be surrounded by so much wealth when others went without. 

If Danno looked up from his work, he could make eye-contact with the others in this sacrosanct suite of offices. Danno locked eyes with Chin Ho Kelly in the office to his left. The native man raised a mug in salute. Danno saluted back with his own mug, then glanced down in disbelief at his screen. Should he tell Chin what he had found out about the mysterious stranger?

Governor Denning wouldn’t say anything further about McGarrett. After hitting roadblocks at every turn during his computer search, the best that Danno had managed to find was McGarrett’s image in the background of a funeral procession for a late HPD officer. John McGarrett had served in the Navy, then came to work for the police department. He had been killed recently in a suspected burglary gone wrong. Danno had to assume McGarrett must be related to the murder victim. Was it his father? Uncle? Brother? 

Maybe Danno should ask Chin for help. Kelly was the resident computer expert, a cool customer renowned for his unflappable temper. He had chill to spare. More chill than a polar bear, Danno liked to joke. Lieutenant Kelly was former HPD. He had worked alongside John McGarrett. Chin had been headed for the top until his career got sidelined by false accusations of bribery and evidence tampering. None of it was true, but that didn’t stop co-workers and family from holding it against Chin. In spite of the accusations, the Big Kahuna of the security task force had hired Chin, no questions asked. That told Danno all he needed to know about Chin’s personal integrity. 

Chin was a slight man with a medium build, sinewy and strong. Handsome, if guys were your thing, which sometimes they were for Danno. Chin was the clear, clean pool of water with a small ledge and a sharp drop-off to a deep, unfathomable hollow. Danno knew if anyone had been hacking the planetary security system to protect the stranger’s identity, Chin would be able to find out who and why. But the trouble was, Danno also knew that Chin was one of the few people with the ability to be able to hack the security system and erase the stranger’s identity as well. Should he ask Chin about this McGarrett guy or not? 

The moment Chin broke eye contact with Danno, they both looked towards their third team mate in the office across the hall. Kono Kalakaua smiled deviously in reply, like she was the sole possessor of the best joke in the universe. She was Chin’s cousin, and she had been recruited straight out of the academy a week before graduation, because she had a great head on her shoulders in crisis situations. She was a dead-shot sniper and all-around close combat expert. All it had taken was one word from Chin, and the Big Kahuna had hired Kono that very day. 

Like her cousin Chin, Kono was slight of frame. But she could shake your hand one second, and flip you over her shoulder backwards the next second. Kono had a mean right hook and saucy, sharp tongue. Kono was the mermaid in the deep ocean waves. She might flirt harmlessly with you, or she might drag you under the water to your death. There was no telling which from day to day. 

Danno’s eyes drifted from Kono’s killer smile to the office directly across the square from his own – the one that belonged to the ever-absent head of the security task force. The Big Kahuna’s reply about McGarrett had been brief and cryptic, but encouraging. 

_/DW: Good man. Keep me posted. Sir/_

Every morning when he came to work, Danno studied the boss’s office to see if things had moved since the day before. Invariably someone had been in the office overnight. The paperwork and folders moved around. If Danno submitted case reports at closing time one day, they would be read overnight, approved, and returned to him the next day. Good luck deciphering that shitty signature though! 

Danno’s eyes scanned along the walls of the boss’s office, and travelled down the graduated models of various starships and interstellar crafts. The guy was clearly military, and had an obsession with big-ass starships. Maybe he had served on them, or maybe he liked to build models. There were awards and decorations and commendations out the wazoo – combat medals for valor and bravery and marksmanship and grace under fire. Danno had to believe that some of that was purely for show. The guy had probably bought those in a back-alley pawn shop, and pasted them up on the wall in an effort to impress. There was no way one man could have earned all those medals! He would have had to have spent decades in the military to have amassed them all the hard way. 

There were no pictures. No personal touches beyond the cherished, folded flag kept in memory of a hallowed soldier. There were various native weapons adorning the room and laid across the desk here and there. So the Big Kahuna had an affection for starships, and secrecy, and sharp pointy objects. No kids. No wife. No buddies. No family. He was a loner? A loser? A chump? 

Danno had rifled through the desk once or twice when he had been alone in the suite. The right side drawers of the desk were filled with open cases they were working on. The left side drawers were filled with clean teeshirts, a clean pair of camo pants, and a pristine pair of combat boots, size 11. Clean briefs and socks too. He owned a well-worn pair of slippahs. They were under the desk, but never in the same place twice. Danno liked to imagine the boss as an overweight, middle-aged guy with a receding hairline, waddling around the office, slippahs whacking the ground behind him as he shuffled along. 

Shit! Danno nearly choked on a sip of coffee. The computer pad!! It was open on the desk, and it was running! Blue and red sea creatures were floating around, dancing a merry jig while whistling sea chanties. Tiny musical notes floated out of their mouths as they danced around. 

Danno leapt out of his chair, and raced down the hallway, nearly flattening Chin as Kelly chose to come out of his office at the same time. 

“Whoa,” Chin laughed, leaping back with the agile grace of a dancer. Danno flew straight for the boss’s office, smacking the glass door open, leaving two perfect palm prints. 

“Jersey! You can’t go in there!” Kono bawled from the doorway, stopping before she entered too. 

“Says who?” Danno grinned, hovering over the pad. His smile quickly faded though. Now that he was here, he was afraid that if he touched anything, the big guy would know. 

“You shouldn’t be in there, Danno,” Chin chided from right next to Kono. 

“How is he going to know?” 

“From the malasada crumbs on your shirt, which you’re dropping all over the desk,” Chin mocked, arms crossed in perturbed annoyance.

Danno breathed across the stacks of paperwork. The crumbs steadfastly refused to move. He delicately picked them up, and found there were tiny grease stains on the paper. 

“You’re dead,” Chin consoled. “Too bad. I was just starting to get used to you, Jersey.”

“When was he here?” Danno wondered. 

“Overnight,” Kono decided.

“Why doesn’t he come to work in the daylight like a normal person?” Danno pined.

“He’s a night owl,” Chin suggested. 

“Maybe he’s a vampire,” Kono snickered. 

“Why is there never any footage of him on the security cams?” Danno demanded. 

“Maybe he’s got a secret entrance,” Kono replied. 

“There aren’t any other entrances,” Danno complained as he brushed a trembling finger over the computer pad. “I mean, is the essobee scaling the building and sliding in through the goddamn windows?” 

“Could be,” Chin nodded, tone dripping sarcasm. 

The dancing sea creatures disappeared. Danno’s own face greeted him. Was it a reflection? A trick of the light? He pulled back, and the picture changed to a different image, though it was Danno’s face again. The images were moving backwards in time, backwards through his life. Currently showing was his graduation picture from the ILEF Academy on his home world Jersey. There were his parents, beaming with pride on either side of him. Danno felt a guilty pang – he needed to call his mom. 

Danno stood up straight, arms jutting out, palms folded open to the sky, with his elbows joined to his hips.

“What the hell?” he demanded, motioning to the screen. 

“Looks like Uhane is running a background check on you,” Chin observed.

“Why?” 

“Because you’re breaking into his office?” Chin offered. 

Danno’s picture disappeared. The blue and red sea creatures returned, floating around and whistling tiny musical notes. Danno raced for the doorway, standing between Chin and Kono. 

“Why is he checking me out?” Danno wondered. 

“Maybe he doesn’t trust you. I mean, you are capable of breaking and entering. Who knows what else you’ve done?” Chin tormented in a brotherly tone. 

“I just….I….” Danno sputtered. “I’m curious, that’s all. No one has ever seen the guy. Maybe he doesn’t exist. Could be Denning is fooling all of us, you know?”

“He exists,” Chin confirmed too quickly. 

“How do you know?” Danno demanded. 

For once, Chin did not have a snappy reply. He stared blankly at Danno, fighting a sly smile. 

“Do you smell that?” Kono sniffed.

“Smell what?” Danno wondered, inhaling. 

“Coconuts,” Kono answered.

Danno sniffed and nodded. “Coconuts,” he agreed. “Between the coconuts and the pineapples, this planet always smells like an overripe fruit salad.” 

“Maybe you should both learn to respect another guy’s space?” Chin scolded, scooting Danno and Kono out of the boss’s office before returning to his own. 

“Your percom is beeping,” Kono alerted Danno. 

“No shit,” Danno joked, leaning over his desk to touch the screen. “Detective Williams here.” 

“Sir, this is HPD. We’ve got an incident that I think you’re gonna wanna see.”

“What sort of incident do you have, Officer?” Danno inquired, leaning a hip on the desk and waiting. He felt Kono at his back, her breath raspy with excitement. 

“Two dead bodies have surfaced behind Mama Poloi’s Luau Pizza.” 

“And?” Danno waited as Kono did a happy dance behind him. She jumped once or twice, then checked for her badge, her sidearm, and her percom. 

“It’s weird, sir. Real weird. One of the bodies is full of tiny holes. It’s like someone poked him to death. You gotta see this to believe it, Detective Williams.” 

“Okay. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Danno agreed, disconnecting the call. He whirled around to find Kono there, eyes shining brightly with hope. “Hey Rookie. You feel like a…” 

“Sure!”

“….weird case? A trip over to…” 

“Let’s go!” Kono exclaimed, grabbing Danno by his tie and hauling him along. 

“Chin? We’ll be….” 

“Back? Thanks for the warning,” Chin joked as Kono hauled Danno out the double front doors of their office suite. The painted glass doors marked 5 and 0 almost smacked him in face. 

“I’ll drive,” Kono insisted. 

“I guess so, since I don’t have a craft,” Danno remarked wryly.


	4. Mama Poloi

Danno missed his hovercraft so badly. That car had been his pride and joy. He had paid a mint to have it brought all the way from Jersey. Paid another mint to have its programs revamped for the conditions and regulations here on this environmentally-conscious planet. Then, his first day on the job, someone had borrowed the tasty vehicle from the parking garage, and they had wrapped it around a rock formation on the beach. Danno had cried actual tears. 

The mechanic had said that Danno was lucky not to have been behind the wheel himself. The braking system had had a fault in it, and the steering program had developed a dangerous tic. Both of those glitches had glitched at the exact same time, leading to the wrecked hovercraft and the wrinkle in the rock formation on the beach. Danno was running over the incident in his mind as he followed Kono out of the building. He shuffled along sadly, lamenting his manifold misfortunes. He climbed into her fire-red hovercraft, and buckled himself in. 

There were few things that could make Danno’s blood race faster than being in a fast-moving craft with a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, his heart was thumping for all the wrong reasons. Kono turned into a howling devil-beast behind the wheel of a vehicle. They took a corner at a 90-degree angle, nearly spilling out of the open-top hovercraft. He held onto his tie as it floated up in his face. Adjusted his goggles as they shifted with centrifugal force. Smoothed down his hair for the seventeenth time. Made sure to clench his mouth closed to keep the bugs and sand out. The clouds which had been on the horizon this morning were now gathering overhead. It was going to rain within the hour, he was sure of it. 

Kono was grinning ear-to-ear as she whirled around the next corner. Mama Poloi’s sign was glowing at the end of the block. The pineapple thumped and throbbed indecently with bright yellow and orange and green neon lights, visible although it was an hour until noon. Danno gripped the safety harness with both hands. He clenched his eyes closed as Kono spotted a space between two other police crafts. She wasn’t…wasn’t going to really…she was. There was a sickening jolt to the left, and they whirled around in a complete circle before dropping ten feet down with a bone-jarring thump. 

“You okay, Jersey?” Kono purred as she cut the engine. 

Danno cracked one blue eye open, pulled his knees up out from under the dashboard. He wobbled as he climbed out of the craft, dismounting the vehicle like a greenhorn sliding off a bucking bronco. 

“You gonna put up the top?” he asked, motioning to the roiling clouds. 

“Nah, brah. She’s water-proof,” Kono answered, patting the craft’s side as she hurried away. 

Danno followed Kono through the gathered police vehicles to the seedy dive. One of the front windows was covered over with heavy plastic and packing tape. There were blood splatters and streaks all over the sidewalk. One helluva fight had taken place right where they were crossing. 

“Mama?” Kono called out. The owner poked her head out from the kitchen area. 

“How are you, Sunshine?” 

Mama Poloi was soft and round, and full of smiles. Danno estimated her age to be somewhere past 55, perhaps approaching 60. She had gray streaks in her dark hair, and crows-feet around her chocolate-brown eyes. She wasn’t short or tall, but somewhere in between. She had big strong arms, and a wonderful laugh. 

“HPD Dispatch called us. You had a bit of excitement?” Kono asked. 

“Nothing Mama hasn’t seen before. Just a couple of boys tussling around with the wrong customer the other night. Now the same jokers have had the bad manners to die behind my store,” Mama clucked disapprovingly.

“Two guys get killed in front of your restaurant, and no one calls the police?” Danno interrupted the friendly laughter that Kono and Mama were sharing. He was clicking away with his percom, taking in photos which were automatically loaded to his computer at work. Once the rain started, his blood evidence was going to disappear. 

“What’s your name, Detective?” Mama asked. 

“Detective Sergeant Daniel Williams,” he answered. 

“Well, Detective Williams, they weren’t killed in front of my place. They got the crap kicked out of them in front of the place. That was night before last. They turned up dead in the alley behind my place a day later. I had no idea they were even dead, not until they were brought to my attention.” 

“That’s a heck of a lot of blood on the sidewalk out there, ma’am. I mean, you had to have known they were hurt,” Danno continued. 

“Maybe they deserved to be hurt,” Mama replied, eyes turning reptilian for a moment before she smiled again. 

“You wanna show us the goods?” Danno asked. 

“Sure, Detective. Right this way. Can I fix you up with something to eat while you’re here?” 

“That would not be appropriate,” Danno replied before Kono could get a word in. 

“Speak for yourself,” Kono retorted. Mama patted Kono’s shoulder. She snagged a slice of pizza off the board, and slid it to Kalakaua. The slice was probably three times the size of her little head. Kono started zipping down bites faster than a starved snake in a box full of mice. 

“Mahalo nui loa,” Kono spoke between bites. She was slurping down pineapple and sausage bites like there was no tomorrow. Her cute face was dotted side to side with sauce splotches. Danno shook his head at her. Kono wiped her mouth on a napkin that Mama slid over to her. 

“You’re welcome, keiki. Right this way, Detective. Nothing that remarkable. Just a couple of stiffs,” Mama shrugged, opening the back door of the kitchen and leading the two officers out into the alley. 

Danno took one look at the two men propped up against the wall, and spun back to face the proprietor. 

“They’re in rigor. They’re not freshly dead. Did you find them like this?” he demanded.

“You kinda slow, aren’t you? Maybe you better start taking notes. I already told you. I found them in the dumpster this morning. I had to pull them out and prop them up here. Thought it would make your job easier. That way you wouldn’t get your shoes dirty climbing around in there,” Mama smiled fiendishly. 

“You pulled the bodies out of the dumpster?” Danno blanched. 

“Yes.” 

“By yourself?” 

“Yes,” Mama repeated. She had arms like a deckhand – all rippling muscles. Was that from a lifetime of kneading pizza dough? 

“You tampered with my crime scene?” Danno flared up. 

“The trash guy refused to dump the bin unless I took them out.” 

“He already dumped the bin?” Danno frowned. 

“Yes. Couple hours ago. Told me I needed to pull these two out, and call the authorities.” 

“Because you wouldn’t have called us otherwise?” Danno asked, laughing softly to himself while thinking he would sorta like to smack her in the side of the head. And then his mother's voice in his head chided him for being rude to his elders. 

“What do you want from me? I called them in. Two dead bodies. In my alley. There they are. Nothing special. Couple of jerks. You gonna call someone to take them away before my lunch rush starts?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Danno nodded. How the hell was he supposed to find any evidence when the crime scene had been disturbed, the bodies had been moved, repeatedly it would seem, because they sure as hell didn’t climb into the dumpster of their own accord, did they? Danno took a calming breath and pulled out his percom to start documenting as best he could. It didn’t help that the HPD officers who had called Five-O and dropped this in his lap were now standing on the sidelines, watching Mama bawl Danno out. Kono was busily gobbling down her pizza. She paused long enough to ask Mama a quick question. 

“Hey, Mama? Can I see your security cam footage?” 

“Yeah, Sunshine. Right this way. We’ll let the detective do his thing.”

Kono disappeared inside with Mama, who was dusting her floury hands off on her big apron. 

“You know these guys’ names?” Danno called out. 

“We were never formally introduced. I suspect they’re military, judging from the tatts. Their names will be on their IDs, which are probably in their wallets, Detective,” Mama called back with malicious glee before the door closed. 

Danno studied the two men from a close perspective. Both were big and muscular. Both had military IDs on their right shoulders, but not United System Forces. They were dressed in identical dark camo pants and black teeshirts. Not unlike what McGarrett had been wearing, he noted with a twitch. They had both been garroted – the ligatures around their necks were wire-thin red lines pulled deep into their bruised and bloodied flesh. Had they been strangled at the same time? Impossible, he would imagine. Had they been choked to death separately and brought to the dumpster, tossed inside like so much trash? 

Both had been in a bad fight recently. With each other or someone else? There were bruises on their faces, and boot-shaped bruises on their chests and abdomens. Had they been attacked by a band of ass-kicking ninjas? Who would want to kill a couple of seamen on shore leave in Oahu? And was he imagining that they shared similar features and a nearly identical jawline? 

Danno used his stylus to jot down a couple notes, before using the tip of the stylus to lift the shirt hem of the first dead goon. Were those very tiny bullet holes? Who used bullets these days? That was so Old Earth. Every schmuck in the underworld worthy of his rap sheet had moved from bullets to lasers or death rays, light-based cell-destroying weapons, eons ago. 

Not bullets, Danno realized, lifting the hem of the goon’s shirt higher. This guy’s chest was riddled with tiny stab holes. In perfect pairs. All over. Fucking weird. Just like the HPD Officer had said. Too fucking weird. Who takes the time to strangle someone, and then poke them repeatedly with pencil-thin instruments of death? 

Wait a second…..

Danno was having a spine-chilling revelation which made his stomach drop down into his lower abdomen. Kono popped out the back door, computer pad in hand, eyes bright with excitement. 

“Brah! You’re not gonna believe this!” 

She thrust the thin tablet at him, showing him the image he knew he would already see. There was McGarrett, his mysterious stranger, having a quiet bite to eat while leaning against the outside windows in front of Mama Poloi’s Luau Pizza. Minding his own business, downing a slice, watching the crowds on the street. 

These two goons came swaggering up along the sidewalk, talking shit the minute they spotted the stranger. Although the video did not include sound, it was pretty evident what had happened. McGarrett pocketed his food, pulled up his hood, and tried to move along without incident. One of the goons grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. Still talking shit, sneering and mocking the stranger. 

The military men who wound up on Hawaii, either stationed here or dropping by on shore leave, they had made a name for themselves for misbehavior of all assortments. You put a little freedom and whisky into the wrong soldier, and they forget their manners. Any time a starship pulled planet-side, Danno could count on his assaults and disorderly public behavior skyrocketing for a week or two. These two assholes were no exception to that expectation. 

All Nine Hells broke loose in the video. McGarrett went into a kind of trance and reacted mechanically to being attacked. He twisted the first goon’s arm with one swift snap, and whirled on the second goon as he leapt to his cohort’s defense. It was a blur of arms and hands. Kicks that looked impossible. A whirl and a neck blow levelled one goon, who crawled away to the side, alive but down. The second goon somehow managed to get a meaty forearm around the stranger’s neck. The camera caught McGarrett’s face – there was something cold and feral in his eyes as he responded by digging in a pocket and producing the metal sticks. 

It was over in seconds after that. McGarrett drove off the second goon with a lightning-fast series of jabs. The goon limped away, holding his punctured chest, putting down an arm to help his friend up to his feet. McGarrett smirked at them as they scampered away to safety on the other side of the street. 

It was like watching a pack of feral tom cats fight for possession of a front porch stoop. All flying fur, and arched backs, and howls and growls. When it was all over, Mama Poloi appeared from inside the establishment. She handed the stranger a wet cloth, a bottle of beer, and a motherly pat on the shoulder. He pecked a kiss on her hand, and slinked away into the night. 

“Isn’t that your poino from the courtyard?” Kono asked. 

“Yeah,” Danno nodded. 

“He kicked their asses six ways from Sunday,” Kono observed happily. 

“Yes, but they’re alive when they crawled away,” Danno protested. 

“They were alive as of twenty-one hundred hours, night before last,” Kono confirmed. 

“He beat their asses. He shamed them. Why would he need to hunt them down and kill them a day later, after the fact?”

“I don’t think it was this guy,” Kono answered. 

“Who else had motive?” Danno howled. 

“I dunno. Could be they left here and picked a fight somewhere else down the line with someone who had no qualms about killing them,” Kono answered, flipping through the video again. “We gotta find this guy, and question him though.” 

“You think?” Danno frowned. 

“At least he won’t be hard to locate,” the rookie grinned brightly. 

Danno flashed an unamused grimace. Was Kono being funny? The entire palace knew that Danno had sent this stranger off with his own key card. What the hell had Danno been thinking, inviting a dangerous stranger to crash at his place? 

“I’ll call Max, and wait with the bodies. You wanna go collect your house guest?” Kono asked. 

“Who is the lead investigator here? You or me?” 

“You,” Kono confirmed with a winning smirk. “It’s your call, Jersey?” 

“You call Max, and stay with the bodies. I’ll go find this animal.” 

“Fabulous plan,” Kono retorted. 

Danno snapped several parting pictures of the dead bodies before heading inside the dive. Mama was lurking right behind the door, but she darted into the kitchen as Danno entered the building. Her hired help was loitering around, straightening tables and chairs, getting ready to open the door for the customers who were beginning to gather in anticipation. Mama appeared from the kitchen, mashing a ball of dough around in her powerful hands.

“Mama, I’m gonna need you to delay opening for a while,” Danno began.

“Why? The stiffs are out back. They were never in the store. Why I gotta keep my doors closed?” 

“She’s right, Jersey,” Kono called as she entered the back hallway. 

“Keep people out of the alley? We don’t need gawkers gawking at the bodies.” 

“Yes, Detective. That seems reasonable.”

“Thank you. In the meantime, I need to ask you a few questions.” 

“What can I help you with, Detective?” 

Danno flipped through pictures on his phone, settling on the single shot he had taken of McGarrett on the stairs at work early this morning. 

“Do you know this man?” Danno asked Mama. She gave him the blandest dead-eye stare he had ever endured. 

“I do,” Mama answered, mangling the dough in her grip. “He comes in once a week, has a slice or two, and then he disappears again. He always has the same thing – pepperoni, black olives, pineapples, and anchovies.” 

Danno shuddered in distaste. “How long?” 

“Once a week,” Mama repeated, turning to slam the dough down on the counter, mash it around, pick it up again. 

“No, I mean, how long has he been a regular customer?” 

“Since he came home to Hawaii.” 

“When did he come back?” 

“When his father was killed.” 

“When was that?” 

“Almost two months.” 

“Who was his father?” 

“An HPD detective.” 

“Do you know his name?”

“The man who was killed was John McGarrett.” 

“No, I meant…I meant this guy. Can you tell me his name?” 

“I’m gonna need to consult my lawyer first.” 

“You’ll tell me everything about the guy except his name?” 

“He’s a good man. You leave him be,” Mama warned, slamming down another ball of dough and angrily whack, whack, whacking it with a rolling pin until it was mangled and mashed flat again. Danno wondering if he ought to be pulling his gun or not. She was wielding that rolling pin like a medieval knight might wield a mace. 

“I need a name. Please,” Danno persisted. 

“He wasn’t doing anything but defending himself against those two. They were alive when they were running away, tails between their legs.”

“I need a name, Mama. Please,” Danno begged. 

“Odell Martin,” Mama blurted impatiently. 

Danno fumbled as he wrote the words. 

“I thought his name was McGarrett,” the detective puzzled. “Who is Odell Martin?” 

“My lawyer. I ain’t saying another word to you. I know my rights. Have a good day, Detective. Elsewhere,” Mama muttered, giving the dough balls another round of vicious whacks for emphasis. Danno knew when to give it a rest. He tiptoed for the exit, pocketing his pad and stylus, hoping he could get Kono’s craft to fly for him.


	5. Wailea Hotel

“Ma? Will you…Ma? Will you calm down, and let me get a word in edgewise?” Danno pleaded. 

The detective was carrying his ceremonial robes over one shoulder. He was soaking wet because there had been a tumultuous downpour. The rain had lasted exactly from the time he left Mama Poloi’s pizza place to when he pulled up in front of his hotel. Kono’s soaked craft was double-parked in the no-parking zone, but Danno had left the police lights on, so everyone should have known that he was here on business. 

Danno fumbled around the frame of the portal, trying to hit the reset button which would open his hotel room door in case of emergency. All the best hotels had the technology nowadays, and this was definitely the best of hotels. He grunted and stretched, and cursed the bastard who decided to put the button on the center top of the tall door frame. 

“I’m fine, Ma. Tell Dad you don’t have to shell out your life savings to buy passage on a freighter to check up on me. I’m thirty-five years old. You gotta cut the apron strings at some point. I promise you, I am okay.” 

When his door beeped and opened, Danno danced backwards from the portal and lowered his voice. 

“Ma, why are you crying? I’m not living on the street. They set me up in a temporary place. I’m doing okay. I’ll be able to get a new place next month. I’ve been saving up. Ma? You are a beautiful human being, you know that? I love you. But I gotta call you back. Why? Because I’m working, Ma. It’s like one in the afternoon here. But I swear to God, I will call you back tonight. I love you. What? Yes. I’m eating right. Ma. I am hanging up.” 

Danno disconnected the call, and dropped his percom in a pocket while freeing his sidearm. He pushed the door in, and scanned around with his gun. No leaping tigers. No immediate indications of danger. He reached inside, and touched the light panel. As the rays illuminated his temporary home, Danno caught his breath in shock. 

The suite was freaking spotless. The dirty dishes had been cleaned away. His piles of laundry had been picked up. The take-out boxes had vanished. That funky smell he had created by trying to toast marshmallows in the decorative fireplace? It was gone too. The collection of beer bottles had been recycled. The divan had been cleaned, straightened, and pushed back where it had been when he first moved in. Someone had pulled the area rug out of the closet, vacuumed the floor and the rug, and had arranged the rug under the divan and the coffee table. The coffee table had been wiped down, and pushed back in front of the couch where it belonged. There was, like, an actual coffee press there, on a tray with cups and everything. 

Danno brightened as he closed the front door. He let his robes drop into the nearest chair. He kept his sidearm trained on the sound of the shower running in the guest bedroom. The kitchen area smelled like spicy shrimp and peanut sauce, the best kind of Asian-influenced cuisine. The hotbox was warm to the touch. Someone had only called up the meal a minute or two ago. 

Danno came around the corner of the guest room just as McGarrett walked past the bathroom doorway. The stranger had showered, but he had yet to redress. He was wearing a large towel around his waist. His hair was undone, flowing loose over his back. He was sucking down noodles and veggies and shrimp from the black ceramic bowl in his grip. He was eating with the pencil-thin stabbing instruments he had used against the military goons.

Danno could see McGarrett’s reflection in the mirror behind him. He had a hand weapon tucked into the back of the towel. The stranger recoiled in surprise when he spotted Danno out of the corner of his eye. In an instant, the stranger let go of the bowl of noodles, and snatched his weapon free. He crossed the room in two steps, pointing the weapon in Danno’s face, eyes tight with tension, face a mask of danger. Danno didn’t give an inch. He advanced towards McGarrett. 

The noodle bowl landed on the floor with a bang, slightly tousled but otherwise okay. One stray shrimp landed a second later, right in the center of the bowl. The sticks landed helter-skelter, clattering loudly. The stranger noisily sucked in the noodles he had stuffed into his mouth. 

Danno and McGarrett pointed their weapons, trying to menace each other through facial expression alone, because neither was particularly worried about the other man's gun. Slowly, the stranger licked a drop of peanut sauce off his bottom lip. Even more slowly, the towel around his waist began to unravel. He gave it no notice either way. His hips had little hope of holding up the luxurious, thick fabric. 

“You’re early,” McGarrett commented. Danno grunted and smirked in reply. 

There was a tantalizing rustle as they circled around one another. Danno was standing face to face with a semi-naked, muscled, tattooed god whose towel was starting to slip again. Danno’s eyes dropped, crossing from a flaming red salamander around one of McGarrett’s nipples, following the handle of a three-foot long spear tattooed on McGarrett’s body from right chest to right thigh. The stranger tilted his head, hazel-blue eyes admonishing even while appreciating the compliment. Danno wondered what kind of expression he must have had on his face. 

McGarrett slid a hand down his front. Danno assumed he meant to tuck the towel closer in. Instead, he pulled the towel completely away. Tossed it aside, landing it perfectly on the edge of the pristine bed. Danno flushed with embarrassment. 

McGarrett had not spent the morning wallowing in luxury. He had cleaned the suite of rooms, and then he had showered and shaved. He was bloody gorgeous without that bushy beard. Jaw like a block of ice. Danno’s curious eyes kept falling downward. 

“You’re all wet,” Danno observed. 

“You too,” McGarrett smirked. Danno put a hand through his ruined hair, hoping it was not winging out to the sides like it felt. 

“You clean up nice,” Danno whispered, tongue darting out for a second before disappearing again. 

“Put down your weapon,” McGarrett growled.

“You first,” Danno invited. 

“Same time?” the stranger hoped. 

“On three?” Danno suggested. 

“One.” 

“Two.” 

“Three,” the stranger whispered. He lowered his gun, and picked up his noodles. The sticks had landed in a jumble on the ground outside the bowl. He didn’t care. He started eating once more. 

“Sorry I surprised you,” Danno murmured.

“I wasn’t expecting you home yet,” came the muffled reply between bites. 

“Clearly,” Danno snorted. “You gonna just leave that there?” he motioned sheepishly to the discarded towel. 

“Sorry,” the stranger replied between hungry slurps. The last of the noodles disappeared. McGarrett collected the towel, giving a soft hiccup. He patted his chest to dispel heartburn, and headed for the bathroom. His departure was hypnotic. Danno’s eyes fell from the scars on his spine and shoulder, down to his backside. The man had an ass like a perfect peach, framed over the top with a tribal tattoo which stretched from one hip to the other. 

“I have spare clothes,” the detective offered on the way to the bathroom. 

Following McGarrett had been a mistake, because now Danno was close enough to smell the heady mixture of smoke and spices and that tantalizing something else. The noodle bowl was empty on the counter, two sticks laid neatly to the side. The stranger was drying his hair with the towel, bent slightly against the counter. His eyes were closed, and his beautiful, long lashes were leaving shadows on his cheeks. Danno couldn’t think. He wanted to nuzzle those lashes, and do unspeakable things to that perfect ass. 

“I have clothes,” the stranger responded, standing up straight once more. That must have been what was in the cloth bag he had been carrying. Danno’s eyes were glued on his ass. “You gonna be okay?” the man asked. Danno’s eyes bounced up, and he felt his face coloring. 

“I need….I need to….talk to you about Mama Poloi’s Luau Pizza.” 

“Great pizza,” McGarrett replied, putting the towel over the towel rack. Danno’s hand snaked around the back of the door. He grabbed the bathrobe hanging there, thrusting it at the other man with a determined grunt. Danno did not turn away, because he literally couldn’t, not without brushing some part of the naked man. 

McGarrett arched one brow. His smile twitched. He crawled into the bathrobe and pulled the front closed demurely. Then he tied the belt around with a tug and swish, added a little hip tilt to boot. He let the belt hang right where his naked dick had been swinging around a second ago, hazel-blue eyes teasing Danno all the while. He bit his bottom lip enticingly. Redness and heat crawled out of every pore on Danno’s body. 

“You sure you wanna talk about pizza?” McGarrett asked. Danno gulped dryly. 

The words were spoken with a mocking playfulness which annoyed the hell out of Danno as much as the soft deep rumble was turning him on. Danno’s brain had gone entirely blank. What had they been talking about? He gulped again, but his mouth felt like a desert. 

“Pizza,” Danno stammered. 

“You do look hungry,” McGarrett agreed playfully.

“Hungry,” Danno agreed. He couldn’t help it. His eyes dropped down and rose up again appreciatively. 

“I took the liberty of programming some healthier meals into your hotbox. Vegetables. Steamed brown rice. Healthy protein. Just reading the menu clogged my arteries.”

The stranger’s much-abused percom bleated loudly on the counter. He snatched it up and held it to his ear. 

“Commander McGarrett. Yes, sir? Tonight?” His voice deepened as his face scrunched up. “Sir, what’s the rush? Edwards has been putting off this negotiation for months. Has he got a starship to catch?” 

Another silence stretched. Whoever was on the other end of the line was not a happy camper. The stranger was vaguely amused though. McGarrett’s smile stretched out languidly though, and he hummed up a chuckle. 

“Being as my intrepid second-in-command has totally blown my cover, I guess it won’t do any harm to show my face at an official function. But just so you know, I won’t be happy about it. I’m not comfortable in front of crowds. You know that. We talked about that when I agreed to take this job.” 

Danno’s brow furrowed in puzzlement as he listened. 

“Of course he sussed me out. I told you Detective Williams would spot me. He’s a first-rate detective. We’re lucky to have him,” McGarrett murmured, eyes scanning Danno with pride. 

“What?” Danno whispered, shaking the cobwebs out of his brain. 

“Edwards is bringing the princess tonight? Understood. And her daughter?” McGarrett muttered. “Understood. We’ll act as security for the entire family. This is not my first rodeo, sir. What time do you need my team there? Understood. We’ll hold the perimeter and….what? You want us to blend….blend in? Like, with the crowd? You want me to pack heat and protect Edwards and his family in a penguin suit? Sir… honestly…” 

Small pause. McGarrett was gritting his teeth tight. 

“Yes, sir. I do own a tux. Yes, sir. We’ll all be there at nineteen-hundred hours. With bells on. Sir.” 

McGarrett disconnected the call with an angry exhalation through his nose. He slid the damaged percom up onto the counter, studying Danno’s frown. He had tossed the percom up by a folded leather wallet. Danno could see a badge glinting inside the fold.

“Cover?” Danno tested the word, arms crossing over his chest. “Second in command of….?” 

The other man offered his right hand, scarred palm and all.

“Lieutenant Commander Steven J. McGarrett, Head of the Governor’s Special Security Task Force. Nice to meet you finally, and again.” 

The man had a smile like a movie star, and a face to match. Not that that was going to save him from Danno’s wrath. 

“You’re the Boss? You’re the Uhane?!” Danno shouted at the top of his lungs, fists clenching tight. 

“Yes,” McGarrett confirmed. He was pulling his hair straight, twining the long strands together over one shoulder, letting it dangle down his chest. Coconuts. He smelled like coconuts. Son of a bitch. 

“I’ve been walking past you every day for weeks, and you couldn’t tell me this!?” Danno shouted. "Is this some kind of fucking joke to you?" 

“I couldn’t break character. I was working undercover,” McGarrett stressed. “But you? You noticed me right off. I knew you would. You got the best instincts,” McGarrett chuckled. He dropped the robe to the floor, brushing past Danno wearing nothing but a wicked grin. 

It took Danno a few seconds to collect himself, and to fight the urge to grab that perfect peach of an ass. Also to fight the urge to grab those two thin sticks and bury them in McGarrett’s eyes. McGarrett continued rambling, oblivious to the danger he was in. 

“Can I borrow Kono's hovercraft? I need to pop over to my place. Pick up my tux. You gonna need one too. A tux, that is. We have to contact Chin and Kono too. Gotta fill them in about tonight,” McGarrett was saying as he slithered into a skin-tight pair of beige cargo pants. Going commando, of course. He buttoned his fly, and then wrestled his big arms and broad chest into a too-tight, light green teeshirt. 

“Do Chin and Kono know who you are?” Danno demanded. 

“Yes and no,” McGarrett waffled. 

“Have they met you in person?” 

“Chin has. Kono hasn't.” 

“OF COURSE!” Danno howled derisively, laughing mostly at himself. 

“Shit. Where’d I leave my cloak?” McGarrett muttered. 

Danno scooted through the suite, hot on Steve’s heels as he headed for the kitchen. McGarrett pulled open the trash bin, rustled around, and yanked out his tattered cloak. He shook off the dirt and coffee grounds, smiling brightly. 

“That’ll keep ‘em at bay, won’t it?” he joked before sliding himself into the filthy, smelly garment. 

Danno swung at Steve on impulse, connecting with his right jaw. The commander spun all the way around. The punch had rung his bell, that much was certain. But it didn’t stun him for long. He snatched Danno’s hand like a striking cobra, and pinched a finger or two while holding Danno’s arm up behind his back. No matter how much he wiggled, Danno couldn’t break free. 

“Detective Williams, you seem angry.”

“YOU GODDAMN RIGHT I’M ANGRY!” Danno exclaimed. 

“Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t up front with you from the beginning,” Steve offered. 

“You lied to me!” Danno growled. 

“I needed to keep my identity under wraps. I also needed to be where I could watch everyone come and go from the governor’s palace. That security system is a goddamn joke. We both know that.” 

“You deceived me,” Danno growled again. 

“Okay, but understand, it wasn’t anything personal.” 

“You’re an ass!” 

“I might be an ass, but I am still your boss,” Steve reminded him, letting go of his arm and hand. Danno swung around, both arms raised into fists, ready to take another shot at that handsome face. 

“I hate you so much!” Williams wailed. 

“Okay. I’m good with that. Do you have a tux? This is important. We need to be there to protect Counselor Edwards, make sure nothing happens to him or his family.”

“Kiss my ass,” Danno muttered. He was all geared up to make a dramatic exit, until he remembered this was his place. McGarrett was striding back and forth through the suite, pocketing his armaments from the nightstand in the guest room. He picked up his percom and badge off the guest bathroom counter, putting the percom in his pocket, and clipping the badge to the front of waist at his hip.

“Thanks for today, for letting me crash at your place. You should take a nap. Have some lunch. Collect yourself. I’ll see you tonight at eighteen-thirty hours at Iolani Palace. We’re going to get along great!” McGarrett piped hopefully, thumping Danno’s shoulder. 

With that, McGarrett slipped out of the hotel suite and was gone. 

Danno yelled in helpless fury, slumping down on the couch and covering his head with one cushion. 

And then it hit him. He sat straight back up. 

Counselor Edwards? Had McGarrett said Counselor Edwards? 

McGarrett was right about one thing -- the gods were both vengeful and creative.


	6. Shot Through the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we learn that Danno was once a royal consort, and that Steve can be a bit of a scoundrel.

“What’s the matter with Jersey?” Kono asked. She touched her finger to the communications earpiece concealed in her dangling earring. Chin adjusted his collar, touching the ornamental pin there as the cousins took up their positions in the crowd at the governor’s palace. 

“He met the boss the afternoon. Formally. In the flesh.” 

“Oh. I see. Everyone gets to meet the boss but the rookie. Is that it?” 

“He likes to lay low,” Chin chortled.

“If he lays any lower, he’ll be underground.” 

“He’s listening to every word you’re saying,” came another voice, stern and deep. 

“Where is he?” Kono breathed.

“I don’t see him,” Chin answered. 

“That’s the whole idea,” the voice mused. “Nice dress, Officer Kalakaua. You look beautiful tonight.” 

Kono glanced down at the blue-green sheath of silk.

“Bet that isn’t the first time you’ve said that,” Kalakaua grinned. 

“Are you packing?” McGarrett asked. 

“Bet that isn’t the first time you’ve said that either,” Chin laughed. 

“Six weapons, plus my standard issue,” Kono replied.

“All under that? Good girl,” McGarrett purred. Kono beamed even brighter. 

“So where is Jersey?” Chin wondered. 

“Danno is in the courtyard. I couldn’t convince him to come inside. He said he’d rather gargle crushed glass,” McGarrett replied. “Chin, woman to your left, fifteen clicks.”

“Tall, blonde, and buxom?” 

“Yes. She's former Russian Intelligence. She’s also got a Makarov in her right boot.”

Chin wondered how the Boss had noticed anything except the skin-tight pants and the thigh-high black boots. 

“You can see the barrel as she turns to the light. Please escort her out in the hall, and have a chat about the disarmament policy.” 

“Yes, sir,” Chin chuckled. 

“Why does he get to have all the fun?” Kono pouted. 

“You want fun? Go talk Danno into coming inside,” McGarrett suggested. 

“Why didn’t you order him to come inside?” Kono asked. 

“Short of hauling him in over my shoulder, it wasn’t happening.”

“You gave up?” 

“I know when to make a strategic retreat, and rethink my attack plan.” 

“McGarrett?” Governor Denning’s deep voice came over the percom link. He must have been standing right next to McGarrett, Kono decided. She scanned around the room. The governor was easy to spot in his bright white ceremonial robes. The very tasty guy standing next to him in the sharp tux was holding an empty wine glass, and had a suspicious bulge under his right side. He had a laser pistol openly strapped to a thigh holster which hugged his leg. He was also wearing a cloak, which seemed a little much even for this most formal occasion. 

Was that McGarrett!? Kono wondered where she had seen him before. She was sure she knew that face. Kono drew herself in tight. She hurried through the gathering throngs of people to get a closer look. 

Chin escorted the tall blonde with the Makarov out the entrance of the vast room which was crowded to the hilt with the best and richest of Oahu’s best and richest. The blonde was protesting her innocence in a language Kono didn’t recognize. 

Danno came stalking in, looking like he had gone a round or two with the guards at the door. He straightened his bedraggled tie, and smoothed the lapels on his slightly-wrinkled tux. Kono gave him a discreet wave. Danno scowled at her, and slinked into the shadows against the wall. He leaned there haphazardly, pouting for all he was worth. Kono stroked her earring. 

“Hey, Jersey. Why the long face?” 

It took Danno a couple tries to smack his tie pin and engage the com device. 

“I’m not ready for this,” Danno moaned. 

“Ready for what?” 

“I haven’t seen Rachel in six weeks. We fought like hell. I told her to get fucked. She said she would, and better than I ever had. It went downhill from there. All in front of Gracie.” 

“Danno, have you been drinking?” Kono gasped. 

“Don’t ask,” he replied, giving a tiny hiccup. 

“Are you out of your mind? If the Kahuna sees you like this, he’ll go through the roof!”

“Fuck him too,” Danno scowled. 

“I heard that,” McGarrett interjected ominously. 

Danno hiccupped, “Fuck you twice, you cocky bastard.” 

“Officer Kalakaua, take my place. You stick to Denning. Detective Williams and I are going to have a little talk. In the hallway. Before he makes more of a spectacle of himself.” 

McGarrett swept past Kono, a tall blur in a swishing cloak, leaving the lingering scent of smoke and coconuts. She headed for his spot by the buffet table, snagging a couple little nibbles to tide her over until later. McGarrett scooped up Danno’s arm, hauling him bodily into the hallway. Chin was just warming up to his conversation with the tall blonde. 

“Frosty,” Steve nodded casually as he hauled Danno past Chin and the blonde. McGarrett was intent on shoving Williams towards the end of the hallway where they could talk privately. Danno was fighting every step of the way. They were pushing and shoving each other like little kids fighting in the backseat of a hovercraft on family vacation. 

“Doggie,” the tall blonde replied. She was pulling the Makarov out of her boot. “I swear to you, cupcake, I was only carrying it for personal protection. I feel naked without a gun,” she pleaded her case to Chin. 

“I believe you, lady, but you can’t take that in there, not with the people we’re expecting tonight,” Chin told her. 

“So not impressed. Seen one royal princess – seen them all,” the tall blonde chuckled with a crooked grin.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Chin commiserated. “Is this everything?” 

“Da,” Frosty nodded innocently. 

“Chin, get your eyes out of her cleavage. She’s also got a stiletto down her shirt,” Steve called out, trying to pry Danno’s teeth out of his shoulder. 

“Mind your own business, you dirty bastard,” Frosty called back, reaching inside to retrieve the thin blade.

“How did you get this past security?” Chin goggled. 

“It’s not metal. It’s a polymer alloy,” Steve replied for her. Frosty nailed McGarrett with a sharp glare as she slid the weapon into Chin’s grip. Steve winked and made kissy face at Frosty in response to the death glare, before pushing Danno around the turn and up into a dark corner. McGarrett got face to face with Danno. 

“I don’t know who you think you are, manhandling me like this, but you better get your goddamn hands off me, or you’re going to die tonight,” Danno rumbled in warning, body tensing, prepared to fight. His hair was disheveled from the struggle, falling in dirty blond waves. 

“Who do I think I am? I’m the guy who is going to kick your ass if you don’t pull yourself together and explain what your problem is.” 

“I got nothing to say to you,” Danno muttered, leaning his head back on the wall and banging a couple times. 

“Are you still sulking about the whole….?” Steve motioned in the air towards the courtyard outside. Danno huffed angrily, and smoothed back his hair. “I said I was sorry.” 

“I said fuck you,” Danno retorted. 

“I expect you to remain professional, Detective Williams, and tonight, our job is to protect the governor’s friend, the counselor, and the counselor’s wife and child. I expect you to protect them like they’re your own wife and child. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Well, that’ll be easy, because they are my wife and child,” Danno laughed painfully. 

Steve faltered, eyes getting big for a second. He dodged back, and then forward again, propping Danno up by his shoulders. 

“What the hell are you babbling about?” 

“Rachel.” 

“Who?” 

“I’m sorry. Princess Rachel of Worcestershire.” 

“What about her?” 

“Counselor Edwards is married to my ex-wife, and he’s playing Step-Stan to my little girl. Rachel left me, and she took my Gracie, and she married that asshole Edwards, all because he was rich, and famous, and connected, and the heir to half the money in the New York and New Jersey systems,” Danny spat out the words. 

“Your file said you were married, but it did not mention you were married to the Princess of Worcestershire!” Steve chortled. 

“It’s not something that she wanted spread around. We kept things on the hush-hush.” 

“You’re her dirty little secret, huh?” 

“What about it?” 

“You were a royal consort?” 

“Why you gotta look so surprised?” Danno demanded, spoiling for another shoving match, maybe even a full-fledged fight.

“I think it’s cute,” Steve offered with a quick shrug and gentle smile. His tongue darted over his bottom lip, and he fought a bashful smile. 

“Cute?” Danno sneered.

“You. A royal consort. It’s cute,” Steve offered, hoping he was defusing Danno’s hostile temper. He could not have been more wrong. 

“I’ll show you cute, you son of a bitch!”

Danno took another swing at him, and McGarrett caught the first, holding tight to keep Williams standing still and not throwing punches. 

“Danno, I’m sorry she left you, but you gotta pull yourself together here. Okay?” 

“She didn’t just leave me. She destroyed my life,” Danny whined sourly. 

“I understand why you’re mad.” 

“Fuck you and your fucking sympathy, you fucking fuck!” Danno snarled and spat, angrier than ever. 

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Steve scolded. Danno turned red and hung his head. "You can’t lay all the blame at the Princess’s feet.”

“Why not?” Danno goggled at Steve in disbelief. 

“Maybe you ought to be mad at Stan, and yourself too.” 

“I am mad at myself! I can’t believe I was stupid enough to introduce them!” Danno wailed. Steve let go of Danno’s hands, and rubbed the smaller man’s shoulders gingerly. 

“Go ahead. You can shout at me if it makes you feel better,” he soothed. “Get it off your chest. Let it out.”

It was like a dam broke. Danno started to babble. 

“You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never been married, have you? You don’t know what it’s like to be in love this way,” Danno moaned. “She knew she meant everything to me, and she ripped my heart right out of my chest! She was the best thing that happened to me. Me, some nobody from Jersey. Some dumb ILEF cop. I can’t believe she even looked at me twice. My dad was right though. He was so right. Rachel never cared about me, and she doesn’t care about Gracie. Rachel used me to make her parents angry, that’s all. My daughter is my life. I’ll go anywhere to be closer to her. But this? This is the worst torture, having to see Rachel.” 

“You wanna know the secret to surviving torture? Never let them know you’re in pain,” Steve soothed, rubbing his shoulders some more. 

Danno fell quiet. That statement had sobered him slightly. Given McGarrett’s military background, Williams had a terrible suspicion the former SEALIE was speaking from personal experience, and wasn’t just elaborating in a figurative sense. An uneasy feeling spun around in his queasy stomach. 

“Boss?” Kono interrupted over the open com. “Counselor Edwards and the Princess are arriving.” 

“Thanks, Kono. Can you do this? Yes or no, Detective Williams?” McGarrett asked. Danno squared his shoulders, and smoothed his hair back. 

“Yes, sir. Yes. I can do this,” he decided, pulling himself up. 

“Atta boy,” Steve grinned. He straightened Danno’s tie. “You should see yourself.”

“That bad?” Danno worried. 

“Maka o ke ahi,” Steve grinned as he herded Danno back to the double door entrance to the vast room. 

“Isn’t that a fish?” Danno wondered. 

“Eyes of fire, lolo. It means ‘eyes of fire’,” McGarrett replied. “Do you not know how to take a compliment gracefully?” 

“I dunno, man. I don’t get compliments every day of the week,” Danno defended. 

“Okay. All right. Your eyes. They’re on fire. Full of energy. Like, I dunno, you could take us all on, with one hand tied behind your back. Fuck, it’s not like I give compliments every day of the week either,” McGarrett grumbled. Was that Kono giggling on the com line? Or was it Chin?

“Thank you,” Danno barked. 

“You’re welcome. Can we get this together? Can we do our jobs now?” McGarrett demanded in exasperation. 

“Fine,” Williams replied. 

Princess Rachel and Counselor Edwards were swaggering their way up the stairs with an extended entourage of personal security and ladies in waiting. Dripping fans and onlookers and followers. Danno faltered, falling back as everyone nearby was doing, even while steeling himself heart and soul. As the Princess approached, people around her bowed or curtsied in deference, all except Danno and McGarrett. 

Rachel swept past them like she hadn’t even seen Danno, but her beautiful face hardened with hatred. Her pert nose curled like she was smelling something awful. Several of her attendants recognized Danno, and gave him identical sneers of disdain. Rachel tugged on her elaborate, lacy train as if to keep it out of danger of brushing anywhere near Danno. The detective gave his ex-wife a wide berth, his heart breaking anew. His pain was all over his face. Steve watched Danno deflate with dejection. All the previous fire in him had been squelched by Rachel's icy demeanor. A violent screaming match would have been preferable to being utterly ignored. McGarrett’s mercurial eyes took on a hard edge. He discretely put one shiny wingtip forward, tripping the guard who was following closest to Princess Rachel’s wake. The guard fumbled, lost a step, and landed both boots right in the center of the princess’s dress train. 

There was a sickening rip. Princess Rachel whirled around, admonishing the guard with one arched brow. He fled from her side like terrified gazelle before an enraged tigress. A flurry of attendants rushed to the princess, collecting the ruined train. Another attendant appeared, tacking a decorative bow over the hole torn in the backside of the princess’s priceless dress. To everyone else in the room, it had seemed like a tactical wardrobe change. They had no idea what had taken place or why. Except perhaps for Kono, who was choking on laughter by the buffet table. The governor patted Kono on the back, thinking she had an appetizer lodged the wrong way. 

Danno didn’t dare breathe. He wasn’t sure if he would laugh or sob, and didn’t want to chance either one. Steve reached back and rested a hand on Danno’s trembling forearm. Concern for his second-in-command washed the big man’s face before disappearing behind a stony mask. Steve turned to shield his words, leaning down to his side to whisper to Danno. Their shoulders brushed. Steve’s lips were almost in Danno’s ear. 

“It’s two hours. One hundred twenty minutes. I got your back, Danno. You can do this,” Steve encouraged. 

Danno snorted noisily. Rachel’s eyes darted nervously his way. Steve leaned further down, lips actually brushing Danno’s ear as he whispered again. 

“Never let them see you hurt, buddy. It only feeds their ego. And her? She is all ego, head to toe.”

Danny was snorting again, tucking his chin to his chest. 

“Never let them see you hurt,” Danno agreed. McGarrett cast the princess an over-the-shoulder smirk. 

“She ain’t so special.” 

“You think?” Danno snickered. 

Steve purred, “You can do so much better than that.” 

McGarrett’s words sent a quiver through Danny’s heart. Princess Rachel’s baleful eyes flickered over McGarrett, her fake-ass smile plastered over her face as she acknowledged the admiration of the rest of the party-goers. Paused to sign a few autographs. Allowed several pictures to be snapped. Pretended nonchalance as one of her attendants slid the fur-lined cape off her delicate shoulders. 

“Is that real fur?” Steve bristled. 

“Danno!” 

A small form pushed unexpectedly under Steve’s cloak to get to Danno. The detective swelled with happiness at the sound of that excited squeal, arms open to receive the child leaping up into his arms. She was a dark-haired child with her mother’s face and her father’s stubborn streak. 

“Counselor Edwards? Princess? We are honored by your presence,” Governor Denning said, greeting the esteemed guests and their entourage. 

“Grace, dear. Come this way,” Rachel ordered over one shoulder, hardly bothering to turn around. Mustn’t mingle with the riffraff. 

“But I want to talk to Danno,” Grace protested. 

“Grace. Now,” the princess repeated, pointing to a spot at her side, like she was bringing a dog to heel. 

“Danno….” Grace protested, her voice an undignified whine. Rachel gave her daughter another demanding stare before turning those hateful eyes to Danno. 

“Do as your mother says. I’ll see you later, Monkey,” Danno relented reluctantly. 

“Promise?” 

“Cross my heart, hope to die,” Danno nodded. He crumbled forlornly to one side, watching his daughter hurry to catch up with the princess and the counselor as the governor led them and their entourage to the head table. They greeted the Samoans, who were waiting at the head table as well. The Samoans seemed just as interested in McGarrett's presence. Their leader kept shooting curious glances at the man, who would only reply a cryptic smile and polite nod. 

Danno was melting as he retreated out of the double door entrance, his face stoic and his shoulders squared. McGarrett was at his back, rubbing Danno’s arm with the edge of an elbow. 

“It didn’t end well, whatever you had between you,” McGarrett decided. 

Danno grunted sarcastically. “You think?”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Chin asked as he sidled up to Danno and McGarrett. He was tapping the Makarov on McGarrett’s right arm. 

McGarrett spared a glance at the tall blonde, who was adjusting her outfit discretely. They seemed to talk without saying a word. McGarrett slipped the weapon under the back of his cloak. 

“Frosty, you here on vacation, or on assignment?” McGarrett asked her.

Frosty shrugged. “I am lancing freely these days.”

“You get bounced out of Russian Intelligence, or did you quit?” McGarrett asked. 

“I do not believe that is any of your business,” Frosty growled. 

“Who is running up a tab tonight for your services?”

“You know I cannot say.”

“Whatever they’re paying you, I can match it.”

“You can do better than that,” Frosty pressured. 

“Okay. I’ll double it, and throw in a bit of a bonus on the side.” 

“What kind of bonus?” Frosty’s eyes glittered. 

“Use your imagination.” 

“I am not so sure you would take kindly to that,” Frosty’s grin was sharp and seductive, and very dangerous.

“I’m a flexible guy. Name your pleasure.”

“I want to smear you with honey, and stake you to a Panfar pit.” 

Chin and Danno had the same shocked expression. Steve’s face lit up with delight though.

“Are you mad about Okinawa, after all this time?” McGarrett chuckled boyishly. 

“You are very lucky we are standing in a room full of potential witnesses, or I would exact a very special revenge on you,” Frosty warned. 

“I did what I had to do. It was nothing personal.” 

“You sold me to a Yakuza warlord!” 

“Yeah, but I negotiated a great price,” McGarrett defended with that thousand-watt smile. “Besides, from what I heard, you had no trouble at all taking out Wo Fat, his bodyguards, his henchmen, and his prize pet koi fish. I mean really, did you have to kill the goldfish too? What did they ever do to you?”

“I did not kill the fish. I put them in the bathtub. They were fine when I left. I did not kill Wo Fat either. I managed only to wing him. He escaped with his life.” 

“More is the pity,” Steve remarked grimly. “That man is a cockroach. He will outlast us all.” 

“You can give me back my Makarov any time, you prick.” 

“Aw’right,” McGarrett nodded, reaching backwards up inside the cloak. Instead of the Makarov, he came back with a peashooter of a laser weapon. 

“You cannot be serious,” Frosty protested. 

“Frosty, do me this favor, just one night, and I will pay you any price you ask.” 

“All right, you bastard, but you sell me to another warlord, and all bets are off.” 

“Understood,” Steve agreed. “You stay with me. Chin, you take the front entrance. Danno will stay on the princesses. Kono, cover us from above?” 

“Aye, sir,” Chin agreed. 

“Yes, Boss!” Kono chimed in.


	7. Sabotage

The music was nothing risqué. It was the kind of stuff you might hear in an elevator on Washington One. Watered-down. Devoid of all creativity. Nothing remotely daring about it. Nothing that could offend. The lyrics had been altered to protect the innocent. But Grace was enjoying it, so Danno was smiling from ear-to-ear as he boogied around the dance floor with his pint-sized partner.

“Work it, Jersey,” Kono commented from her hidden outpost upstairs on the balcony. 

“Bite me,” Danno answered, hips swaying, feet clopping left to right, hands flapping around. Grace was imitating his every move. It was better than the best, even if it was just ten stolen minutes on this stupid dance floor, pretending this wasn’t the first time he had seen his baby in six weeks. 

“I met him!” Grace shouted to him over the music. 

“Met who?” Danno wondered. 

“Mad Mick,” Grace said, pointing skyward. 

“The singer?” Danno puzzled. 

“He came to see Step Stan,” Grace explained. 

“Step Stan knows Mad Mick?” Danno blinked in surprise. Mad Mick was only the most adored and worshipped singer in the galaxy. Followed everywhere he went by throngs of adoring fans. 

“Step Stan knows everyone,” Grace sighed as she rolled her eyes. 

“Yes, I bet he does,” Danno agreed, casting an evil glare in the man’s direction. Edwards was schmoozing with the governor, celebrating their latest accomplishment, negotiating with the Samoans for a complex of resort hotels on a neighboring island. That was Stan’s reason for moving to Hawaii. Another planet, another conquest, another string of chic-chic hotels. He had bought himself a council seat so he could have more pull with zoning and city planning. Another day in the life of Stanley Edwards, interstellar snake in the grass. 

Okay, maybe that was harsh. Danno had liked the guy, right up to the point where Stan had stolen his wife right out from under him. But Rachel would not have been looking for companionship outside of their hush-hush nuptial arrangement if Danno had had his attentions on her instead of on his job. If Danno had spent his time making her happy and catering to her every whim like everyone else did, she wouldn’t have even noticed Stan Edwards. 

Oh, who was he kidding? Their relationship had been doomed from the second she ran his jalopy off the road with her top-of-the-line Mercedes. His craft was left a total wreck, and so was his heart. Rachel had swept him off his feet with affection, flattery, and attention. He obliged by falling hopelessly in love with her. They had had to keep their marriage under wraps. It wouldn’t do for the galaxy to know that the lofty Princess of Worcestershire had taken a shine to a lowly ILEF cop from New Jersey. The Worcestershire family wasn’t happy, but they permitted a morganatic arrangement, with the understanding that the child would never be permitted to rise to her mother’s status. Grace was a princess in name alone. 

Danno’s mother had been thrilled, but his father had been utterly depressed by the union. Eddie Williams had had a damned good sense of right where his son’s marriage was headed from the start. He had realized that Rachel was only using Danno to make her parents angry as hell. It rankled Eddie that Danno was being used, not that his obstinate son would listen to a word of warning. 

Danno felt a smile cross his face. He had been thinking about his father, while watching the bored expressions fleeting across McGarrett’s face. The tall man was making himself invisible behind the governor’s chair, eyes rolling back in his head as he stifled the third yawn in ten minutes. He must have been reacting to whatever Stan and Rachel were tittering and tattling to Denning about. The governor chuckled politely. 

It bothered Danno that Frosty was stationed next to McGarrett. They shared a word or two. Steve said something which made Frosty smirk. Danno’s heart burned at the idea that there might be something going on between the two of them. Not that it was any of his business. But she was an unsavory mercenary. So what if she was tall, and blonde, and gorgeous, and all that other stuff. Surely McGarrett was not the kind of guy who allowed himself to be dragged around by the balls by every beautiful woman who crossed his path. 

“Another dance, Danno?” Grace asked, tugging on his arms to get him to turn his attention back to her. 

“Anything you want, Monkey,” Danno replied, giving her a big hug as she leapt up into his arms again. He swayed and swirled to the next, even more boring song. 

It was hard to ignore the palace guards stationed very near in the crowd, eyes on Grace the entire time. Danno knew in his heart of hearts that Rachel was holding Grace over his head because that was the only bargaining chip she possessed to keep him under her sway. That was Rachel’s raison d’être, keeping everyone in her circle under her control. It bothered Danno to know that if Grace had been a homely child, or a less accomplished child, her mother would have had nothing to do with her. What bothered him even more was that someday, Grace was going to figure that out too, and it made his heart ache for her. Nevertheless, no matter what, Grace would always know that Danno loved her dearly. 

Danno wanted Grace to be as happy and normal for as long as possible. She was growing too fast. Soon enough, it would be a life of expensive boarding schools on distant planets. He would be lucky to see her once a year then. Grace would eventually be sequestered by her grandparents, brought up to look down on her father’s background. She would never rule, but it was possible she might be used to make a beneficial marriage and seal a truce to a neighboring planet or system. Danno knew he would see her even less after that happened. But for now, at least for tonight, his daughter was here, and she wanted to be the center of his attention. He swore to himself he would never take her love for granted. 

There was a squeak of surprise from the head table. Danno’s head jerked up to see McGarrett going airborne, one leg extended like he was leaping a hurdle. Steve galloped right past the head of the governor, face a mask of grim determination. Frosty followed McGarrett over the table, a faithful hound at his heels. Stan was sitting there like a fish with his mouth open, a fork in his grip. Rachel rocketed to her feet, frantically searching for Danno and Grace, eyes wild with fear. She shouted Grace’s name. 

Danno didn’t have to wonder long what the problem was. He could smell smoke. His head whirled towards the door. An earth-shaking explosion ripped through the front hallway, shredding the double doors into a thousand-thousand jagged pieces of shrapnel. Danno whipped around to see Chin diving for cover to the side. There had been two explosions right on top of each other, giving a Doppler effect of percussion which left Danno’s ears ringing. 

Williams reacted, falling back to his first, most basic instinct – to protect his daughter from harm. He grabbed Grace and dropped down on top of her. That wave of splintered wood and steel shrapnel was headed right across the dance floor. Grace screamed out, her eyes wide with shock and terror. Danno surrounded her with his body. She was stiff as a board, and screaming for all she was worth. 

Danno felt the wave of splinters whistle past an inch above his arched back. Grace’s screams had been picked up and echoed by the rest of the crowd. People panicked and fled, pushing and shoving their way past one another. Some clumsy ass put a foot in the middle of Danno’s back, and collapsed on top of him and Grace. There might have been gushing blood involved, but Danno couldn’t think about that right now. 

The second the wave of splinters and debris passed over, Danno pulled his daughter up and held her tight. He struggled towards the relative safety of the far wall. No one blows open the entrance to a party like this without a dread purpose. Someone or something was going to be coming through that ripped-open entrance. He could hear heavy boots on the stairs even now. 

Another set of explosions went off, climbing along the left wall of the building. The palace moaned and contorted like a stirring giant. Ancient bricks exploded out into the night sky, ripped from the edifice with fire and ash and flames. The side of the palace was gone above the third floor. Just plain gone. 

Governor Denning flipped the head table over, and was brandishing his own weapon. His retinue of personal bodyguards were all around Stan and Rachel, protecting them in spite of the fact Rachel was clawing and biting her way free. 

“GRACE!!” Rachel wailed, all decorum forgotten. Maybe she loved her daughter more than Danno thought? 

A wall of blackness was swung over Danno. He smelled smoke and masculine musk and coconuts. It was McGarrett. Grace was pocketed between their chests. They raced in tandem, carrying her towards the turned-over head table. Steve was barking orders. Danno was fighting to clear his spinning head and keep in step with the big man. 

“Frosty! Take the princess!” McGarrett ordered. 

Danno was fighting his need to keep his daughter safe and close. The palace guards were making a circle around Danno and Grace on McGarrett’s command. One after the other was taken out with a well-aimed laser shot. Steve pushed Danno over the fallen table, and Danno allowed the big blonde to haul Grace down to safety. 

A streak of silvery blue hit McGarrett right square in the back. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as his entire form was illuminated by a ghostly aura. The silver blue streak should have knocked him flat, but it bounced harmlessly off his peculiar cloak. McGarrett growled, whirled, and fired. A figure in black was blown back out the gaping entrance by his shot. 

“I need all hands on deck! This is not a drill! Battle stations!” McGarrett continued to snarl commands, even as he patted Grace on top of the head. Danno wanted to remind the big guy that this was not a freaking starship. There were no hands. There was no deck. They didn’t actually have battle stations. But then he took in how protective McGarrett was being of Grace, and Danno didn’t have the heart to correct him. “Get down, keiki. Get down, and stay down.” 

McGarrett rushed back into the crowd, pushing panicked pedestrians down on the ground in order to get a clear shot at the figures in black rushing through the blown-apart entrance. Everyone within earshot was obeying the man’s orders – guards, police, and even the Samoans surprisingly. Williams was back over the table, following behind McGarrett, determined to take out as many of the intruders as he could. 

“Don’t go,” Rachel pleaded, holding onto Danno’s arm even as Danno was kissing Grace’s tear-stained face. 

“Stay down, Gracie. Rachel, I have to go,” Danno retorted. 

Williams was at McGarrett’s side, gun in hand, picking off the faceless shadows streaming into the room. He glanced back to see Grace had stopped screaming. She was peering up over the table, eyes full of wonder as she watched her father.

“Get these people to safety! There’s a reinforced fall-out shelter in the basement,” Steve ordered. Palace guards obeyed at once, guiding people out through another side entrance. Steve and Danno continued to pick off intruders. Steve exchanged a quick word or two with the leader of the Samoans. 

“Good to see you back, Koa,” the man smiled, gently prodding McGarrett in the chest with a native blade, right where Danno knew the tattoo of the native spear was printed. 

“How did you get that past security?” Steve asked. The Samoan leader shrugged one shoulder, and hurried on ahead. 

“What’s he gonna do, deflect laser beams with that?” Danno worried. 

Frosty emptied the energy bank on the peashooter in three shots. She stuffed it into a pocket, and reached up under Steve’s cloak along his back. She ducked down as Steve’s arm swung behind her, his shot taking out another intruder. Frosty came back with her own Makarov, and started picking intruders off left and right. Chin was pushing and shoving his way through the crowd. His forehead was streaked with a curtain of blood. 

“What did you see?” Steve demanded. A shot went past Danno’s head. Chin shouted and fired, and Danno ducked. 

“There was smoke and sparks. They were bringing in the flaming dessert when everything went south,” Chin said. 

“Who was?” Steve demanded. 

“Not the wait staff, cupcake,” Frosty retorted, using Steve’s shoulder as a tripod to get a steady shot with her beloved Makarov.

A shrieking berserker in a blue-green silk dress sailed past, a laser in both hands, her face a mask of war. 

“We got ‘em on the run!” Kono shouted. Chin raced after her. 

Knowing the cousins had the front entrance covered, Steve turned his attention towards the jagged hole blown in the side wall of the palace. Danno spared a glance down towards the front of the building. The courtyard was in flames below. The statues were toppled on their sides except for one – Granny. Houses and businesses were in flames in the city. Multi-million dollar hovercrafts were piled in a bonfire on the scarred cobblestones. His eyes were drawn to the eternal flame in Granny’s palm. It almost seemed like the Goddess was smiling back at the devastation around Her. 

“Three o’clock!” Frosty shouted in disbelief, aiming her gun in that direction.

There was a tremor and purr as a black, armored hovercraft rose up the side of the building. Lights were blinking. A ghostly face went past, illuminated by the array of instruments on the dashboard in front of him. A ship was rising up from between the palace and the next administrative building. It couldn’t have been a big ship, because that space was about big enough for a six-seater hovercraft at best. 

“Frosty! Stay with the princess!” Steve ordered. 

“She is doing all right for herself,” Frosty protested, seeing Rachel grab a laser from one of the palace guards and start picking off anyone who stepped near to Grace. 

“The other princess! Take her into protective custody. Disappear. Do it now,” Steve ordered. 

“Wait. What?” Danno balked. 

“Danno! You’re with me!” 

McGarrett clapped a hand on Danno’s shoulder as Frosty fell back. The ship was rising, dust and debris swirling. The side of the ship was gaping wide, like a portion of the craft was open? A soldier in black was there, warming up a huge laser rifle. Danno’s blood ran cold when he realized the intruder was about to turn the palace into a shooting gallery. McGarrett knew what he was planning too. The SEALIE growled and leapt forward. 

“Are you insane?!” Danno shouted. 

McGarrett was already in motion. Steve fired twice, his shots taking out the soldier manning the laser. It did no good. Another figure appeared out of the rear of the craft to take the fallen man’s place, and a second one appeared, armed to the teeth. The pilot struggled to hold the craft steady. He maneuvered the open side out of reach right as McGarrett leapt out of the jagged wall. 

“STEVE?!?!” Danno shouted, his body pumping forward as he feared McGarrett was about to make a three-story drop to hard cobblestones. 

McGarrett collided with the ship’s hull and stuck there. Danno blinked in disbelief at what he was seeing. How was he able to keep a grip on the side of the ship? Then Williams realized that it was McGarrett’s cloak which was holding him to the ship. McGarrett took the time to smirk at the pilot, flip him a crude hand gesture, and then scrambled towards the opening. The figure arming the lasers hauled the huge gun around and prepared to blast Steve through the chest as McGarrett came into view. Danno screamed out in warning, and fired several shots at the man aiming the gun. 

Danno’s shots didn’t hit the gunner or his mate, but they did crack the cockpit windshield. The craft shuddered and pitched as the pilot slumped over his instrument panel. Danno had cracked the shield and killed the pilot! Oops!

The craft wobbled dangerously, and the nose tilted down. Two figures went wailing out the opening, and screamed all the way to the pavement below, where they struck with a sickening crunch. Danno scrambled up onto the ledge of the shattered wall. McGarrett was inside the craft, fighting for footing, trading punches with another gunner as the craft shivered. 

Danno aimed again, and took out the man that McGarrett was struggling with. The huge laser gun was glowing red hot now. Steve paused long enough to kick the oversized weapon out of the craft. He disappeared into the cockpit, chucked the dead pilot clear of his seat, and yanked on the controls like he knew what he was doing. The vessel levelled off for a second or two. 

Danno leapt out into nothingness, and rolled onto the open deck of the ship. He scrambled past the body of the dead pilot, pushing him towards the open door. The engines were whining and whirring. The craft was turning on a strange axis, its power sucked away by the stalling engines. Danno grabbed for the co-pilot’s seat, landing on his knees as the lasers discharged behind them, rocking the ship. Had someone picked up the laser cannon that McGarrett had kicked out of the vessel? Another volley hit the craft. Those shots were coming from above, not below. 

“Buckle your ass in, would you?” McGarrett howled, fighting with the shuddering ship. They skimmed away from the shattered palace, and floated soundlessly down over the courtyard and over the houses, heading towards the beach. Two vessels surged down out of the clouds overhead, firing at them from both sides. 

“Pearl Hickam,” McGarrett noted with a wry snort. 

Danno was gasping for air, hands buckling the safety harness. The beach was racing at them like a gray and black brick wall. Danno said his goodbyes to Grace, and reached out an arm to brace McGarrett’s chest. 

The strange rush between falling downward and suddenly zooming skyward gave Danno a temporary weightless feeling. It was enough to make his stomach churn. He held tight, fingers digging into McGarrett’s chest. He couldn’t lift his limbs. He couldn’t breathe. He could only stare ahead in horror. 

McGarrett was groaning, teeth gritted against the urge to pass out from pulling too many Gs, too fast, too soon. The bottom back of the craft crackled as it skimmed one or two rock formations. The tail was torn away, and with that the stabilization hydraulics as well. It was over. All over. The horizon was tilting at a sickening angle. Worse yet, the two crafts who had fired on them were swinging around in tandem, setting up for another strafing run. They rose like gray birds of prey against the night sky, illuminated from below by the fire rising from the palace and the city. 

“Brace yourself….” McGarrett ordered. 

“I hate you so much!” Danno bellowed angrily, even while he and Steve locked a hand together each, left to right. 

The craft gave a hellish whine as it pitched forward and over, and the world went dark.


	8. Afterlife?

“Daniel? Baby? Speak to me?”

Danno squinted against the sound of his mother’s voice, because it was throwing his whole brain into turmoil. He struggled to remember what had been happening before his systems had all shut down. He and McGarrett had been in a small ship, crashing upside-down, ass over teakettle, on the beach. He was sure he had felt the rush of sea water inside the open craft. Was this it? Was he dead?

Why was he hearing his mother’s voice in the Afterlife? 

Danno opened his eyes wide, then blinked against the bright light. This wasn’t the Afterlife. He was still on Hawaii. He could tell by the smell, and all the bright light. That was the biggest problem with a city center made out of glass and steel – when paired with bright sunlight, there was a constant sharp glare. Danno wasn’t seeing his mother. He was seeing Kono Kalakaua bending over him, holding onto his percom. 

“Ma?” Danno croaked. On the other end of the connection, his mother was sobbing. Kono spoke loud enough that Mrs. Williams could hear her. 

“Mrs. Williams, he’s waking up. He’s going to be fine. He got a bit rattled, that’s all,” Kono tried to soothe. 

All Danno could hear was his mother crying. Kono seemed able to draw words out of the haltering sounds though. She picked up the percom, and listened sympathetically. 

“UNN was broadcasting pictures and video? You saw the ship go down? You saw him being dragged to the surface by…. those bastards. We told them to hold all footage. No, ma’am. I swear to you, Daniel is right here, and he’s going to be fine. Hardly has a scratch on him. A little bump to the coconut is all. Born under a lucky star? You bet he was!” 

The percom was shoved back under Danno’s chin and ear. He listened with half his brain as his mother wept and rambled about how she was getting on the first freighter she could find from Jersey to Hawaii, and she was going to nurse him back to health if it took her the rest of her life. Meanwhile, Kono was relaying the situation through a glass wall to Chin, who was standing in the hospital room next door with McGarrett. 

The SEALIE didn’t look much the worse for wear. He was sitting upright on his bed. He had lost his cloak, and shirt, and socks, and shoes. A phalanx of military nurses surrounded him, the leader of which was a square, squat woman in a captain’s uniform, jaw like a bulldog, face like a battleship. She moved a palm-sized sensor over McGarrett’s right wrist and his ribs, progressing up over his clavicle, running down between his shoulder blades, over his spine. McGarrett quivered like a frightened fawn when she reached a particular spot on his right hip. She patted his arm gently. 

When McGarrett saw that Danno was awake, he broke into a shit-eating grin. Danno rolled his eyes and shook his head. Steve laughed in reply. 

“Where’s Grace?” Danno mumbled. Kono came back to his bed. 

“Grace is fine. She’s in protective custody. Boss’s orders.”

“Rachel?” 

“Mad as a wet hen.” 

“Stan?” 

“He fainted from all the excitement. And he got a fork through one hand.” 

“How is Governor Denning taking all this?” Danno asked. 

Kono’s face fell. “The governor didn’t make it.” 

“Holy shit,” Danno gulped loudly. “Ma? I love you. I gotta go.” 

Kono took away the percom. Sheepishly folded it up on the table next to Danno’s hospital bed. 

“You okay?” she asked. 

“Denning is…he’s….dead?” Danno blinked. 

“ ‘Fraid so. You’d’ve been so proud of him. He went down fighting, gun blazing to the last breath. He saved the Princess from being abducted.” 

“But….but….” 

“Never knew he had it in him,” Kono lamented. 

“But… who is….” 

“His lieutenant governor is taking over. Jameson? She’s being sworn in as we speak.”

“Jameson?” Danno clarified. He pushed himself up in bed. 

Steve padded barefoot into Danno’s room, trailing military nurses like a celebrity trails paparazzi. He was keeping one step ahead of the squawking captain. 

“Don’t worry, Danno. Grace is safe,” McGarrett promised as he loomed over the detective, peering into his eyes. “How are you, buddy? How’s your head?” 

“Denning is dead? Where is Gracie? Is she safe?” Danno puzzled, rubbing his skull. There was a good-sized ka-bonk on the back of his head, but it only hurt when he touched it. He had a vague memory of striking the dashboard of the craft, and of waking up on the beach with McGarrett bent over him, their mouths pressed together. Wait… had he… had they… Danno licked his own lips, and came back with a strange taste. He rubbed his chest next, wishing he could put together what had happened. ‘Well,’ the sarcastic part of his brain supplied, ‘there is video footage somewhere!’ 

“Yes,” Steve confirmed grimly. "Denning is dead. Gracie is safe." 

“What are we going to do?” Danno worried. 

“You’re going to continue with the investigation into who was behind this attack and why? Who was the target? Were they after Denning, or were they after the counselor? Or the princess? Or the other princess?” 

“What are you going to do?” 

“He’s going to get his ass back in that bed in there, or I’m going to shoot him so full of barbiturates, he won’t even remember his own name,” the captain insisted. 

“Danno. You’re in charge now. I’m through. This attack, it’s on me. I’m going to tender my resignation as soon as Jameson is sworn in,” McGarrett answered. He let the head nurse continue her examination of his bruised ribs and hip. Danno wondered why Steve was holding his right wrist at such a weird angle. 

“Resignation?” Danno echoed. 

“Promise me one thing,” McGarrett pleaded. 

“What’s that?” 

“No more pissing off the gods,” McGarrett commented as he turned on one heel and stalked away. 

“It’s not like I’m doing it on purpose!” Danno bellowed. He rolled towards the side of the bed to put his feet on the floor. The tiles were like ice. He found himself down on one knee rather than up on two feet. Kono and Chin were by his side, helping him stand. He moved towards the doorway, where McGarrett had frozen in place. 

“Commander McGarrett?” 

“Ma’am?” 

McGarrett was addressing the woman in the sharp blue suit and flowing robes. She was flanked by bodyguards and palace guards and armed guards and undercover guards, flowing through a sea of soldiers to reach the skirt-clad figure in Danno’s hospital doorway. 

“Where’s your shirt, Commander?” Jameson wondered. “And your shoes?” 

“I apologize, Governor Jameson. But I’m glad you’re here. I was about to bring you my resignation.” 

The stern woman’s eyes traveled up and down McGarrett’s half-naked form. 

“What makes you think I would accept your resignation, Commander McGarrett?” she barked. Danno couldn’t decide if she was more amused, or more pissed. But it was worth it for the embarrassed blush which was spreading over McGarrett’s face and chest. 

“I assumed under the circumstances, it would take nothing less than my head on a platter to make up for getting caught with my pants down in such a manner,” the SEALIE offered, face full of shame. 

“Steven, you remind me a lot of your father,” Jameson remarked. The jury was out on whether that was a compliment or an insult. “Iolani Palace has been attacked. Half my planet is in chaos and panic. Denning is dead. The counselor is injured. His wife, the Princess of Worcestershire, is threatening to rip the planet apart if we don’t give her daughter back. And you think I’m going to let you quit? Throw yourself on your sword? You can kiss that fantasy goodbye right now, Koa. You aren’t getting out of this shitstorm that easily. I want you dressed in proper attire, and back in your office where you belong. I will receive a situational, tactical report in one hour, or there will be hell to pay!” 

With that, the newly-installed governor swept out of the corridor like a departing morning downpour. No one breathed or said a word for several seconds. McGarrett blinked in stunned silence. 

The head nurse was the only one smiling. She ran her monitor over McGarrett’s right wrist, chuckling softly to herself.

“I have always liked that lady. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. Back in bed, Commander.” 

“I have to get dressed. I have to go. One hour?” Steve sputtered furiously. 

“Don’t make me get my stun gun, Big Boy,” the head nurse threatened with a ferocious smile. McGarrett folded surprisingly quickly under that stern gaze. 

“Tank, how am I supposed to report to my office? My office isn’t there anymore,” Steve moaned, left hand sweeping back through his disheveled hair. 

“Let’s get you taken care of first. The rest will follow.” 

“Tank, what am I going to do?” he asked. 

“Back in bed. That’s an order,” she scowled, smacking him on the rear and pushing him towards his own room.


	9. Ground Zero

The 5-O team stood on the remaining portion of the top floor of the Iolani Palace, in approximately the right place for McGarrett’s office. Bits and pieces lay strewn about, like the building had been a big layer cake, and someone had cleaved off a large slice, and taken several big bites out of what was left. The team’s personal items and paperwork had been tossed around like so many multi-colored sprinkles. Danno had collected his precious ties, dusted them off, and tucked them into a duffle that McGarrett had borrowed from the captain at the hospital. Kono had collected her hand guns and her seashells. Chin had retrieved what was left of his meditation tapes. The only thing Steve wanted was the folded flag. But while Steve was busy with Chin, Kono and Danny had rummaged through his office, and squirreled away as many of his Naval ribbons and awards as they could find, tucking them into the clean socks from his ruined desk, and putting them into the duffel as well. They ran out of socks, and had to resort to using the rough-hewn, multi-colored, knitted squares which had fallen out of a locked safe hidden in the wall where the models had once been hung. 

Intergalactic emergency management troops were moving through the smoldering city, working in conjunction with the regular police and the troops from Pearl Hickman. They were there to bring calm and bring order, but McGarrett couldn’t help the shiver in his soul at the vision of armed troops strolling the streets of his hometown. At least all the flames were out, except of course the eternal flame in Granny’s hand down below. Danno still thought She might be smirking at the situation. Of all the statues, only She remained untouched. He couldn’t help but think there was some significance to the fact that the intruders had been too terrified of Her to do Her harm. 

Chin paced carefully back and forth with a large tablet cradled in his left arm. Diagrams of the city buildings and technical reports were flashing by on the screen in his grip. 

“All sections of Oahu have reported in, Commander. Seventy-five dead. Thirty-six unaccounted for.”

“Where are we at with public services? Food, water, shelter, warmth, protection?”

“We’ve got the basic necessities up and running again, power to the power grid, clean water is available, but our defense shields are down.”

“We’re sitting here butt-naked?” Steve fretted. 

“Nah, brah. Pearl Hickam extended her shields, and so did Molokai. We can withstand whatever they might throw at us,” Kono promised. 

“First priority should be getting the city’s own shields working again,” McGarrett barked.

“Understood. Sea-Bees are already on it,” Chin agreed. 

“What about the intruders who hit the palace?” 

“We ran faces on the felled intruders,” Chin muttered.

“That security system is a joke. Anything pop?” Steve demanded. Chin handed Danno the tablet, because he was standing closest to Steve. Danno handed it over, studying the severe lines on McGarrett’s face as he took in the information. 

“The palace wasn’t the only place that got hit. Several of the hotels around the waterfront at Wailea were taken out simultaneously with the attack on Iolani Palace,” Chin reported. 

“Mudderfudder,” Danno muttered, stopping in his tracks. There was no way he would have known since he had spent the night at the hospital. 

“Afraid so, brah,” Kono nodded. “You’re officially homeless.” 

“Again?” 

“Again.” 

“Not again….” Danny moaned. 

“Don’t worry. I got you covered, buddy,” Steve soothed, thumping Danno on one shoulder with the corner of the tablet. 

“Three blocks of expensive resort hotels were levelled,” Chin confirmed. 

“Resort hotels owned by Counselor Stan Edwards?” Steve ventured a guess.

“Eighty-percent of them, yeah,” Chin nodded. “All purchased in the last six months since he and the Princess took up residence on Hawaii.” 

“Why is Edwards trying to buy all of the Honolulu waterfront?” Steve wondered. 

“To prove that he can,” Danno snorted. 

“Identities of the attackers?” McGarrett steered them back to the previous question. 

“Cream of the underworld?” Danno speculated. 

“No,” Chin shook his head as he waited for Steve to figure it out. 

“Are they all ex-military?” McGarrett frowned as faces flashed by. “I recognize a couple of these guys. What the hell?” 

“Ex-military. Every last one. Whoever was responsible for the attack, they manned their forces with former soldiers. All ranks. All branches. They’ve even got a couple ILEF guys under their aegis,” Chin reported. 

“All of them were either previously stationed at Pearl Hickam, or they had been here repeatedly on shore leave. These guys knew the layout of the city, the palace, the security, everything,” Kono muttered. 

“Whoever it is, this has been planned for some time,” Danno decided. 

“No doubt. They had to have planned this well in advance. But who would do this, and why?” Steve wondered. 

“If we assume the attack was centered around Counselor Edwards celebrating his new hotel plans with the Samoans, it could be environmentalists who are against the idea of developing the islands,” Kono offered. Chin smiled faintly at her. He knew if she hadn’t landed on this side of the law, Kono would be the first one blowing apart luxury hotels and scumbag developers to protect the natural habitat, and the native flora and fauna. Chin would have been right there next to her too. However….

“We can’t automatically assume Counselor Edwards was the target,” Chin chided. 

“Who else would it be?” Kono disagreed. 

“The Princess of Worcestershire has her own enemies,” Chin replied. 

“Yeah, babe, but I got an air-tight alibi,” Danno remarked crisply. He knew from experience that gallows humor at times like this could help morale. He earned a snort of amusement from Chin, and a smack in the back of the head from Steve. Kono merely frowned at him. 

“She’s got her hands in plenty of controversial causes, not the least of which is harvesting endangered seals on Alaska 9 for her premiere clothing line,” Chin reported. 

Steve stared at Danno, eyes wide with horror.

“I knew that was real fur!” McGarrett howled. 

“She’s worn that cloak before. It’s fake fur,” Danno protested. 

“No. It’s the real thing,” Chin assured him grimly. 

“That bitch,” Kono snarled hatefully, fists clenched. “I’ll kill her myself!” 

“Stand in line, babe. Stand in line,” Danno replied. 

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Kono offered. Danno shook his head at her. 

“No thanks, Rookie.”

“Chin, I want the Princess arrested on charges of procuring, handling, and wearing real fur, with the intent to distribute. She might be able to get away with that shit on her own home world, but real fur is illegal on Hawaii, and I won’t stand for it,” Steve growled furiously. 

“Yes, sir,” Kelly agreed timidly. 

“Steven, we need to talk,” Danno interrupted. 

“Okay. Talk. Would you rather book her, Danno?" 

"I....well, yes, but that's beside the point. Where did your unsavory cohort take my daughter? Why won’t you tell me where she is?” Danno demanded of McGarrett. Steve handed Chin back his tablet. 

“If you don’t know where the Princess is, they can’t torture you to get to her,” McGarrett answered. 

“Nobody is going to torture me to find my eight-year-old daughter. Where is my baby?” Danno demanded. 

“Grace is safe and sound, and she’s having a great time too. Didn’t you get the dolphin pictures?” 

“Yes, I got the dolphin pictures.”

“See?” McGarrett said, taking the tablet back from Chin and pulling up the pictures in question. There was Grace, her long hair in braids, fingers tentatively petting the gray-blue dolphin who was smiling almost as brightly as she was. How quickly Steve had accessed the picture raised Danno’s eyebrows. Was this guy cyber-stalking him? 

“Aw. She’s cute, brah,” Kono soothed, patting Danno’s shoulder. 

“She’s got your smile,” Chin said. Danno was swelling up with pride and love. 

“Nah. She’s got her mother’s good looks, all the way.” 

“See, she’s smiling. She’s having fun, playing with the wildlife. She’s going to have her toes painted next. Who doesn’t like getting their toes painted?” Steve asked rhetorically. The rest of the team studied him in concern and dismay. McGarrett wondered what he had said which had so alarmed them. He shrugged and continued on without missing a beat. 

“Meanwhile, her mother is having a nervous breakdown, and threatening to level the entire planet if we don’t produce her child within the hour,” Chin snickered. 

“They’ve got the Battersea Fleet,” Danno warned. 

“Who does?” Steve asked. He gave the tablet back to Chin. 

“The Worcestershires. They have the Battersea Fleet at their command. I would not fuck with those people,” Danno warned in a dire tone. 

“They’ve got Battersea, but we’ve got the Samoans,” Steve grinned. 

“I’m not so sure Edwards was the target here,” Chin shook his head. 

“He is the most likely target,” Steve decided. “The Princess of Worcestershire is a figurehead celebrity with an inflated ego about her own importance. Not really big fish, to be honest.”

Why was Danno’s heart suddenly doing flip-flops for this rough-spoken Neanderthal? 

“What about the seals?” Kono worried, bottom lip quivering. “Even if we arrest her on Hawaii, that’s not going to stop them harvesting the fur at the source.” 

“I know a couple guys on Alaska 9. We’ll get that stopped, today,” Steve promised. 

“Thanks, Boss,” Kono sniffed. 

“You’re welcome. The princess and her fur habits aside, I’d still bet good money that Edwards was the target. He’s a developer with a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of hotel enterprises – planning, supplying, contracting, building – any one of which is worth the effort of kidnapping him and holding him for ransom. Mailing his parts back, one at a time,” Steve continued. 

“Wait. Say that again,” Danno begged, clutching Steve’s arm. 

“You think I’m onto something?” Steve hoped. 

“No. I just like the sound of it. ‘Mailing his parts back, one at a time’,” Danno moaned happily, savoring each word. 

“My money is on Edwards,” Steve said. 

“My money is on Rachel,” Danno replied. 

“Mine too,” Chin nodded. 

“What about you?” Steve asked Kono. The rookie blanched for a second, stood up straighter, and replied. 

“What about Denning?” 

“What about him?” 

“Well, he is dead,” Kono shrugged. 

“Your point?” Steve wondered. 

“They could have taken out any of the three – the Princess, the Counselor, or the Governor. They were all within ten feet of each other. But only Denning is dead.” 

“I’m listening. Go on,” Steve urged. 

“They were using wide-focus beams. They could have taken out all three of them at once. Why only kill Denning?” she puzzled.

“Who would benefit with Denning gone?” Steve asked. 

“Maybe he’s got life insurance. Should we rack up the missus, and see if she squeals?” Kono hoped. 

“He’s ex-military,” Chin interjected. 

“Yes, I know. We crossed paths now and then when I was with the SEALIEs. Sorry, Kono. Denning wasn’t married,” Steve replied. “No missus to rack up.”

“Aw. Too bad,” Kono pouted. 

“You could squeeze his poker buddies for information,” Steve suggested. 

“Is that where I should start, Kahuna?” Kono asked. 

“Kono, you follow up on Denning and his associates. Chin will hold off the Princess and the Worcestershires, arrest the Princess on the fur charges, find out who her family might have pissed off, who would want them dead, aside from Danno, who does have an air-tight alibi,” McGarrett replied, toeing his way through the rubble of his office, mourning visibly at all the model ship parts which were strewn around. 

“What about me?” Danno asked as Chin and Kono high-fived each other, and took off like they were shot out of a cannon. 

“You’re with me.” 

“What are you following up on?” Danno asked. 

“I’m going to cover the ex-military angle.” 

“What am I going to do?” 

“You’re my backup,” Steve smiled. 

“Is that a fact?” Danno laughed. 

“Yeah.” 

“You are so fucked,” Danno warned.

“You think?” Steve smirked. 

“The gods hate me, babe, remember?” 

“Tell me something I don’t know. What time is it?” Steve asked, eyes briefly scanning the sky like there might be a timepiece buried in the clouds. He knelt down to retrieve one of the native blades from beneath the bricks and shards of glass. 

“It’s about two,” Danno answered. 

“Good. Once we make our report to Governor Jameson, we’ll have a few hours to kill. I’ll take you to see Grace, and then we’ll lay low until after dark. What?” Steve asked, dusting off the blade before tucking it into the safety of his cloak. 

“Isn’t it more your style to burst in, lasers ablazin’, dagger through your teeth? Shoot first and ask questions later?” 

“Usually,” Steve nodded. “But I thought I’d try a subtle approach this time around. For your sake.” 

“You? Subtle? This, I cannot wait to see,” Danno cackled. 

“Here comes the Gov,” Steve warned, watching the fleet of small craft rise up from between the valleys and make an approach towards the city. 

“She said you remind her of your father,” Danno remembered. 

“Yup,” Steve nodded. 

“She knew your father?” 

“She knew my father,” Steve dropped the words bitterly. 

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” 

“Yes,” Steve nodded. He was putting out every signal that he did not want to continue this conversation. Not that Danno was going to listen. 

“Poker buddies?” Danno inquired carefully.

“Nope.” 

“Poker buddies?” Danno leered. Steve grimaced when he realized what the detective was driving at – had John McGarrett had a romantic liaison with Governor Jameson?

“Thank you so much for that mind-scarring, mental image, buddy,” Steve grimaced. 

Danno laughed out loud, patting his shoulder. 

“Come on now. Jameson is a good-looking broad. How long has it been since you were home? Maybe your dad was a real lady killer.” 

“My father was a good man. He served with distinction in the Navy, and was a decent, hard-working homicide detective with the HPD. He was never a lady killer. He was a one-woman man, faithful to my mother even long after she was gone,” Steve intoned. 

“Oh,” Danno faltered. “She’s dead, your mother?” 

Steve snorted derisively. “Anybody ever tell you you’re nosy?” 

“Now and again. Sorry about your mother. Sorry about your father too.” 

Steve accepted the words with a quiet nod. His face was a stoic mask. It’s not that he wasn’t feeling anything. He was feeling everything. But unlike Danno, McGarrett was not good understanding or expressing his own feelings, and he preferred to keep them buried for as long as he could. He preferred torture and dismemberment to dealing with his emotions. 

They leaned back and squinted up into the air as the governor’s fleet of hovercrafts floated overhead. 

“What’s she gonna do? Shimmy down a ladder?” Danno shouted to be heard over the hum and whine of the crafts. 

In answer to his question, one of the hovercrafts moved lower, lower, lower. Governor Jameson was standing up in the rear of the oversized craft, robes billowing, one hand on the front of her skirt to keep it from flying up in an undignified manner. 

“Probably not,” Steve leaned down to shout in Danno’s ear. 

“She waiting for you to shimmy up?” Danno wondered. 

“Yup,” Steve nodded when a metal ladder emerged from the side of the small craft. “You coming?” he added, putting a hand up to steady the ladder. 

“Nope,” Danno refused. 

As Steve steadied the ladder, the governor moved towards the edge of the craft. She stared hard at McGarrett, and he let go of the ladder, backed up, turned away. Two of the body guards offered the governor their hands. She stared hard at them until they backed away. Steve put out an arm, keeping his face averted. 

There was a metallic clunk-clunk as the governor got her footing. A hand clasped with McGarrett’s extended hand. With his eyes closed tight, McGarrett turned to catch and steady the governor as she jumped to the ground. The two of them almost made Danno laugh out. Steve with his eyes closed out of fear of peeping up the Governor's skirt? The heels the Governor was wearing were absolutely comical. How in the world did she expect to keep her footing in four-inch wedge numbers like that? Once she was on the ground and he could open his eyes, Steve frowned his disapproval of her footwear as she dusted off her skirt. 

“They didn’t have any better shoes for you, ma'am? Your dungarees packed in a different suitcase?” Steve asked. Jameson stiffened at the familiar tone. 

“Commander, did you know there’s a dress code for my wardrobe, based on ceremony and situation? Up to and including emergency crisis situations,” Jameson complained. 

“I did not know, ma’am,” Steve replied. 

“Did you know that I am not permitted to be seen in the public eye unless I am conforming to said dress code? The bottom line of which is that I cannot wear trousers at any time, and I must always wear dress shoes.” 

“No, ma’am. I did not know.”

“The first thing I’m going to do when this is all over is rewrite that dress code. Just so you know.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“It’s ridiculous to expect me to climb in and out of a hovercraft, and to inspect damaged sites around the city, in a fudging skirt which impedes natural movement. And these heels are killing my feet.” 

“I could carry you,” Steve replied, offering the governor his arm. 

“I could punch you in the face too,” Jameson warned. She raised a brow at him, and he quickly dropped the limb away from her. 

Steve sheepishly handed the tablet to the governor, and let her peruse through the information that the team had gathered. The governor paced carefully back and forth as she went over the material, nodding quietly in agreement. Two minutes of quiet later, she handed the tablet back to McGarrett. 

“Lieutenant Kelly will have his hands full with the Princess and her family. I am going to disallow your request to arrest her.”

“But, ma’am, wearing real fur is illegal on Hawaii, unless you come by it naturally,” Steve blurted. 

“Steven, we are not going to start an interstellar incident over a couple dead baby seals, no matter how distasteful we might find that practice.” 

“It’s horrific. It's barbaric,” Steve hissed. 

“Be that as it may, we will confiscate any and all fur items the Princess possesses, and leave it at that. You are not going to throw a crown princess into the lock-up with murderers and rapists and thieves." 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve agreed reluctantly. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t want Detective Sergeant Williams working the Worchestershire angle, as he has prior experience dealing with them,” Jameson commented. 

“On the contrary, I thought assigning that task to Detective Sergeant Williams would only further inflame the Worchestershires’ fury.”

“I take it your separation from the Princess did not go well?” Jameson asked Danno. He narrowed his eyes and rocked on his heels. 

“No,” Williams said succinctly. McGarrett waited, but there were no more words. He looked away and back again a couple times, still expecting Danno to say more. 

“Detective Williams, why would you ask to be reassigned to a world where your ex-wife and her new husband live?” Jameson asked. 

“I want to see my daughter grow up,” Danno added, voice tight with emotion. 

“Is that why you and Commander McGarrett have secreted your child away to a private, undisclosed location? To raise the ire of your ex-wife and her family?” 

“All I care about is Grace’s safety," Danno said. 

"She had a very traumatic evening. Can’t we let her be happy for a few hours?” Steve offered almost simply. Jameson raised a brow at McGarrett, and turned her attention back to Williams. 

“My daughter is in good hands,” Danno insisted. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Grace wasn’t safe here. Her life was in danger. We don’t know she wasn’t the target – daughter of the Princess of Worcestershire, step-daughter of one of the galaxy’s richest men, granddaughter to the House of Worcestershire," Danno said. 

“Am I correct that because of your morganatic marriage, your daughter would never hold an actual position of power?” 

“That’s correct.” 

“But Princess Rachel could have staged this incident in an effort to kidnap her own daughter, pretend she was being held for ransom,” McGarrett offered. “I don’t think Grace is safe with her mother. There’s something shifty about the Princess. I don’t like her.”

“Steven, it’s not like she’s out there, clubbing baby seals herself," Jameson scolded gently. 

“You don’t know that,” Steve pouted. Danno poked him in the arm to make him stop. “How do we know Rachel didn’t engineer this entire affair in order to draw attention to herself?”

“Why don’t you trust the Princess?” Jameson wanted to know. 

“I’m just saying we should cover all possibilities. She wouldn’t be the first parent to endanger her child to get attention," Steve insisted. 

“Detective Williams, do you honestly think your ex-wife would endanger her daughter’s life for popularity points on social media?” Jameson worried.

"I'd like to say no. Rachel hates me, but she sincerely loves Gracie," Danno protested. 

“She hates you. Your daughter is an extension of you. She already moved six systems away from you in an attempt to hurt you, and she's using Grace to do that. I don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that she would hurt Grace to garner sympathy, and to hurt you. It’s called Munchausen by Proxy, and yes, it is possible,” Steve nodded. 

“What’s your opinion on that ridiculous theory, Detective Williams?” Jameson asked. 

“I think the Commander is jumping to the wrong conclusion.” 

“Are you willing to take that chance with Grace's life?” Steve retorted. 

“No," Danno said emphatically.

"Good," Steve nodded. 

“Do you two hoodlums mean to keep Grace under protective custody until you can prove this wasn’t an attempt by outside forces to kidnap her, or you can prove her mother is or isn't doing this to garner attention for herself?” Jameson asked. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve nodded. 

“Are you okay with that?” Jameson asked Danno. Williams studied Steve’s earnest face. As Danno stared at Steve, McGarrett's eyes got wider and larger. He could have robbed banks with that compelling expression. 

“As long as I know my daughter is safe, I’m okay with that,” Danno answered. 

“Then Hawaii is behind you one hundred percent,” Jameson nodded. She turned her attention to Steve again. Given the dressing-down she had given Danno, Steve had an awful feeling right where this conversation was headed. “You plan to follow-up on the military connection, I imagine, Commander?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Are you going to have a hard time with that?” 

“With what?” 

“I know that’s going to be difficult. Given the extent of your injuries last year, the Navy had no other choice but to remove you from active duty, and transfer you to the reserves. Will you be all right, being exposed to that culture again? Being reminded of what you’ve lost?” 

“I’ll be fine, ma’am,” Steve repeated. 

“I beg to differ, Commander. I don’t agree with your cheery self-assessment. I’ve read your psychological evaluations. I believe this will negatively impact you.” 

McGarrett frosted over like a thin sheet of water on a steel surface. 

“I think it might be better for you to let Detective Williams take the lead on this portion of the investigation, considering the fact that some of the people you’ll be dealing with are friends and acquaintances from your past,” Jameson continued. 

“Is that necessary?” Danno shifted uncomfortably back and forth. 

“No, but if that’s what the Governor wants, we’ll do it,” Steve agreed grimly. “Although, I want the record to show that I am perfectly capable of keeping my own emotions under wraps while I’m conducting an investigation.” 

“Commander, you’re the sole survivor of a failed rescue mission. You lost every single member of your team, and the hostage died as well. You were left for dead for six days, rescued only when a scavenger ship found your team’s remains on Gavla 6. You spent eight months in the hospital, then six weeks under psychiatric evaluation before being released. As I said, Commander, I’ve read your file. I don’t know how you talked your doctor into signing those release papers, but you are not a well man.” 

“I forged his signature,” Steve murmured dryly.

“Very funny, Commander. It’s lucky for you I’m accustomed to McGarrett Humor, and I know you’re kidding. I’m sorry about your father….” Jameson sighed, her voice filled with more emotion than Steve was currently showing. “Is he the reason you got yourself released? Have you heard from Mary?” 

“No.” 

“Does she know your father is dead?” 

“I don’t know.” 

“And your mother?” Jameson shook her head sadly. Steve’s eyes turned absolutely venomous. 

“Ma’am, I am perfectly capable of handling this investigation, but if you feel it would be better to have Detective Williams in charge, I will of course bend to your wishes,” McGarrett responded, voice like gravel, eyes like fangs. 

“Commander, what I want is for this to be handled the right way.” 

“Rest assured, 5-O will follow proper protocol.” 

“I don’t think you understand me, Commander. Screw proper protocol. I want you to find the bastards who did this, and I want you to make them pay. I’m going to rebuild Iolani Palace, and mount their heads on pikes on the roof. But I don’t want to lose you. I worked with your father for many years, and I respect him very much. The least I can do for him is protect his son. If at any time I feel you are at risk, for your own safety and your own good, I will pull you, and let Detective Williams take the lead. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve replied. 

“I’d never forgive myself if I let something happen to you. I owe your father at least that. He saved my ass on more than one occasion when we were in the field together.” 

Steve narrowed his eyes at Jameson, and he nodded silently. 

“You were a cop?” Danno’s jaw dropped. 

“I’m not just another pretty face, young man,” Jameson drawled. “It’s been a few years, but yes, Detective Williams, I wore a badge and protected these streets in my time.” 

“Ma’am, if I feel I’ve been compromised, or that my own feelings are interfering with the investigation, I will remove myself from the equation. You won’t have to step in. I’ll handle it on my own,” Steve promised. 

“As long as we understand each other,” Jameson nodded in reply. 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Carry on then, Commander.” 

“Wait,” Steve called, digging around in his crushed desk. 

Jameson paused halfway across the ruined floor. Her guards were already extending the ladder for her, scrambling down the rungs to be the first to help her back up. Steve retrieved the pair of combat boots, and handed them to the Governor. She caressed the dove-gray material as a small smile tugged at her mouth. 

“You don’t think these might be a bit big on me?” she wondered. Steve fumbled in the duffel, and gave her several pairs of socks. 

“Wear lots of socks, and lace the boots real tight,” Steve suggested shyly. 

“It’s against protocol. I can’t.” 

“Fuck protocol. It's a matter of personal safety. You could break your neck, tripping around in those stupid things you're wearing.”

“Is that your professional opinion, Commander?” 

“Yes, ma’am. I think that skirt is a hazard to your health too.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Jameson said, patting the boots again. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve nodded. 

“Carry on,” Jameson ordered.


	10. Splash Down

Danno spent the afternoon playing with Grace, swimming with dolphins, drinking tea, and, yes, getting his toenails buffed. It had been glorious, even if it had started out having wear a blindfold, hitch a ride on a military transport, and be carted around in the dark for two hours to undisclosed locations. 

Steve spent the afternoon watching Danno play with Grace, smiling like a fool, and then sleeping in a hammock near the spa pool. Danno was pretty sure the SEALIE also got his toenails buffed, not that you could tell, because he had his combat boots back on before Danno even got out of the dolphin pool. But there had been a good deal of unidentified protesting and ticklish squealing, and feminine laughter from the spa staff, while Danno had had his back turned. 

There was no sign of Frosty after their initial arrival. Steve had handed her a bundle of cash, and given her his heart-felt thanks. Frosty had tucked the cash down her shirt and beat a quick retreat, but not before typing her contact information into McGarrett’s much-abused percom. Danno had half a mind to see the percom dunked in the water if possible, but he wasn’t sure that would do it any harm in the end. 

On their way out of the spa retreat, McGarrett had bowed and murmured thanks to nearly every person on staff. They had bowed and replied in a language Danno didn’t know, but was sure he had heard snippets of in Oahu, which told him they couldn’t be that far from home. 

The military transport, the John Jacob, was waiting to take them home. The pilot and co-pilot stood at attention inside the ship, and twelve guards formed two rows leading up to the gang-plank. Danno wasn’t sure what Steve had said to get them passage on yet another military ship, but it was clear the commander had pull with the Navy, even if he was only in the reserves. As Danno carried Grace up into the vessel, McGarrett motioned the guards close, murmuring to them hardly above a whisper. Danno caught the words ‘evening out’, and watched as grins and excitement went through the young soldiers. 

“Headed back to Oahu,” McGarrett promised. Danno had never seen soldiers move so fast. He tucked himself and Grace into one of the spartan jump-seats, assuming McGarrett would take the seat next to him, or the one across from him, the only two that were left empty. Williams was very surprised when Steve strode up to the pilot’s seat instead. He moved with swagger, like he owned the entire goddamn ship, laser pistol strapped to his thigh once more, hooded cloak swirling and shimmering. Did he have a stash of those things somewhere? What had happened to the tattered one? This cloak looked brand new. 

“Sir?” the young blond man questioned in puzzlement. McGarrett motioned backwards with one thumb and made a stern face. His features looked carved from stone, like the Tiki which guarded the sacred sites on Hawaii.

“You’re excused, Lieutenant,” McGarrett said. 

“Bye, Jack. Buckle up tight,” the co-pilot teased. She had close-cropped dark hair and hazel eyes which hinted at mixed Hawaiian ancestry. 

“Stow it, Alika. Sir, do you know how to fly one of these things?” the pilot questioned, not yet ready to abandon his responsibilities. “I mean, it’s been a while since you’ve flown, hasn’t it? You’re not even active any longer, are you?” 

“Technically speaking, I’m in the reserves, which means in case of emergency, I could be called back to active duty.”

“This isn’t really an emergency.” 

“But it might turn into one.” 

“Sir, I…. How long has it been since you’ve flown a ship? This is a top of the line vessel, sir, the latest model. I’m responsible for bringing it back in one piece.” 

“Lieutenant, I’ve crashed more ships than you’ll ever fly. I think I’m capable of keeping this vessel in one piece for a two-hour flight.” 

“Are you?” Jack retorted. 

“Lieutenant, do you wanna ride in a jump seat, or strapped on the roof?” McGarrett menaced. 

“Yes, sir,” the pilot squawked, fleeing to the jump seat across from Danno and Grace. McGarrett calmly buckled into the pilot’s seat like it was second nature. The ship lifted off, smooth as a calm sea. 

“Steady as she goes, Lieutenant Kekoa,” McGarrett ordered.

“Aye, sir,” the co-pilot smiled in reply, eyes all over McGarrett in an appraising manner which didn’t sit well with Williams. Danno grumbled to himself. Was there any straight woman McGarrett couldn’t charm? 

As intent as Danno was on watching Steve and keeping an eye on Grace, he was asleep in less than five minutes. He was dozing lightly, vaguely aware that twilight was chasing them back to Oahu, meaning they had flown east to find the secret resort spa location. Meaning instead of twenty-six hours long, this day had been thirty hours. No wonder he was tired. Grace was drooling on him, sniffing and snorting. Without opening his eyes, Danno petted one of her braids, and fell back into a deeper sleep.

A violent jarring shook Danno abruptly. He and Grace jerked against the safety harness, and Williams expelled loud explicatives before he could stop himself. 

“Goddamn it, McGarrett! Keep this fucking ship steady, will you?!” Danno exploded, wide awake and unbuckling the harness. He rocked on his feet, shoving Grace into the harness and buckling her in securely. 

McGarrett didn’t respond to Williams’ angry outburst, because he was busy barking orders to the crew, sending them to monitor conditions all over the vessel. Soldiers were moving like a flock of startled birds, in every direction at once. Calling back several different computer readings which McGarrett devoured and stored in his brain. 

“I need a position on that ship, Lieutenant Kekoa!” McGarrett demanded, arms like rods of steel holding the pilot’s steering column on the helm. He was growling through clenched teeth, fingers going white-knuckle to keep the ship as level as possible. 

“Two o’clock high. They’re coming out of the dark,” the co-pilot barked back. 

“Friend or foe?” Danno demanded, grabbing onto the back of McGarrett’s seat to keep himself upright and in the center of the action.

“What do you think? They are firing on us!” Steve responded in a snarky bark. 

“Not good,” Danno decided. He fought for footing, his fingers clutching Steve out of reflex. McGarrett grabbed Williams by the chest, and pushed him down on the floor between the two front seats. 

“Hold on to something besides me!” 

There were screams throughout the ship as McGarrett spun the helm hand over hand. The ship rotated wildly inside the imaginary sphere portrayed on the instruments. Above all the rest of the noise – screaming soldiers and bouncing cargo – Danno could hear Grace squealing excitedly. He glanced over and watched her excited, happy face. 

“Do it again! That was awesome!” Grace howled. 

The ship levelled out, and the view-screen barely came into focus before they shot forward directly at the dark-armored vessel which had been concealed by the cloud bank behind them. McGarrett started pushing buttons all over the place. 

“How did they sneak up on us?” McGarrett demanded.

“The only crafts on our sensors have been water crafts, fishing ships,” Lieutenant Kekoa answered. 

“From the nearby islands?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Maybe they borrowed a signature from one of the water crafts, lay in wait down at the ocean’s surface among the islands until we went past?” Steve suggested.

“That’s illegal, sir.” 

“Illegal but effective, Lieutenant,” Steve muttered. “Run an eye over the sensor reports. Tell me if any vessel shows up twice.” 

“Aye, sir. Charging weapons, sir?” the co-pilot worried. 

“Unless you’ve got a sling-shot handy, Lieutenant,” McGarrett chortled. 

“This is a transport vessel, sir. We’re armored against attack, but we’re not carrying a lot of weaponry,” the co-pilot answered. She had pulled up the sensor logs, and had told the computer to search for duplicate readings. 

“How much firepower have we got, Alika?” 

“Lasers only, enough for two warning shots.” 

“Warning shots?” McGarrett snorted. 

“We’re equipped to out-maneuver them, sir, not to engage in a fire fight. We’re nimble, not dangerous,” the pilot called out from his jump seat. 

“That officially sucks,” McGarrett complained loudly. 

“Yes, sir,” Kekoa agreed. 

Another volley erupted from the enemy ship, skimming past the roof of the smaller vessel, making it rock. Grace squealed excitedly once. McGarrett paused for a quick smile in her direction, and Danno’s gaze followed. His daughter was gripping the seat harness, and grinning from ear-to-ear. 

“Secure yourselves, and put on your helmets!” McGarrett bellowed. There was a mad scramble as the soldiers all threw themselves into their seats, and yanked open the bottom compartments below their legs. They were fighting with gravity to buckle on a helmet. Grace got the compartment open, and Danno threw himself over to help her put on the safety gear.

“Power at 90 percent and dropping, sir. We took a direct hit to the power transfer unit,” Kekoa reported. 

“Are they still functioning?” McGarrett demanded. 

“For now, sir.” 

“Put your helmet on first, Danno!” McGarrett ordered. Danno ignored him, and plunked the helmet on Grace’s head. She strapped it on eagerly. The ship rocked again. Danno found himself on the floor, head against the dash. He rubbed his shoulder and his neck, staring up sheepishly at a disgruntled McGarrett. Steve clapped a helmet onto Danno’s head, and hauled him up by one arm as Williams clasped the chin strap closed. 

“She’s coming ‘round, sir. Arming lasers. Sir, am I hallucinating? That’s a fucking Hellwing, isn’t it?” Alika growled. 

“No, you’re not hallucinating, and watch your language in front of Gracie.”

“The Hellwing Fleet was scuttled, sold for scrap,” the pilot shouted over the chaos. “It can’t be a Hellwing.” 

“Hellwing?” Danno questioned.

“A type of fighter craft,” McGarrett replied. He was fiddling with the indicators on the dash which monitored the power banks and the weapons, with one eye on the pulsing white light growing stronger and stronger on the belly of the other craft. 

“Thank you, Commander Obvious!” Danno snarled. “Who uses Hellwings? It would be nice to know who wants to blow us out of the sky!” 

“Nobody uses them!” Jack the pilot shouted.

“That’s the point!” Steve shouted back. 

“Hellwings were used almost exclusively by the planetary expedition forces, especially the SEALIE teams, at least until someone discovered they had an unfortunate tendency to explode if you stressed the power grid during particular evasive maneuvers. You see that white ball of light on the belly? Those are her power cells. If you cause a surge at the wrong time, ka-boom,” Alika reported succinctly. 

“Put your ass in a seat, Danno,” Steve cautioned. 

“What are you going to do?” Danno blurted. 

Steve replied a sly smile. 

Lieutenant Kekoa was handling her helm controls, and staring sideways, helping keep the ship steady, while watching Steve fiddling with the power indicators. 

“You’re not going to be able to soak up more solar power after dark, sir.”

“Not my intention, Lieutenant,” McGarrett promised. 

“Why have you opened the energy cells to the ‘charge’ position? I mean, it’s pitch black out there. We can’t charge by starlight or moonlight.”

“Energy is never created or destroyed. It only transforms,” McGarrett replied cryptically. 

“Sir, they’re locked on,” Alika warned. 

“Alia iki!” McGarrett shouted. Williams’ brain was busy working out the translation (little what?), but given the fact that every soldier on board the ship planted their boots on the floor and grabbed the ceiling above them, he was pretty certain Steve was saying to hold on. 

Danno clutched the back of Steve’s chair with both arms, planting his legs apart to give himself more traction. It looked like the volley from the other vessel had struck the view-screen, but it had actually hit the roof of the craft where the cameras were mounted. There was a wild sizzle of blue and white lightning which flooded over the shields and around again. McGarrett’s left hand was glued on the power indicator. Danno watched the level jump from 60 percent to 125 percent, and it kept on rising. The calm blue turned an angry red. It hit 130, 140, 150…..

Steve’s left knee came up under the dash as they spun around another three-dimensional 360. In spite of his harness, McGarrett was rising up in his seat as they spun. There were noisy groans and splashes behind them. The acrid smell gave it away. Danno didn’t have to look around to know that someone had vomited. 

The other vessel passed right under them, close enough to catch the gleeful expression on the enemy crew through their view screen. McGarrett growled savagely. He jabbed the power indicator for life support, which dropped to 10 percent. Shields came up, and so did the available power for weapons. Across the controls, the power indicator for the weapons array jumped from 50 to 200, and every alarm in the ship went off at once. 

“You have to drop the shields before you fire at them, or the energy will come back at us!” the pilot warned. Danno wasn’t sure if Steve had heard the young man or not. 

McGarrett’s left hand shot up and around the head-rest of his chair. Five fingers latched like a vice to the back of Danno’s shirt, holding him tight to the seat as they shook violently once more. Danno’s face was crushed against McGarrett’s own, cheek to cheek. Danno felt Steve smile, and watched the SEALIE punch the shield indicator. The blue halo evaporated from the tiny ship portrayed on the instrument panel. Steve slammed his right hand down on the fire button. 

“Shields up, Kekoa!” McGarrett groaned. 

“Aye, sir!” the lieutenant crowed, smacking the indicator on her side. The blue halo flashed around the tiny ship again. 

Steve’s right arm snatched onto Danno hard enough to leave bruises. Williams could feel his legs floating in mid-air. If not for the tight grip McGarrett had on him, Danno would have fallen backwards into the rear of the vessel. 

The enemy ship exploded into a thousand, thousand bright lights and bits of metal which clanged and rained against the John Jacob’s hull. The soldiers didn’t even have time to whoop in celebration before their own ship bucked and shuddered, and started a stomach-churning free fall. 

“Commander?” Alika shouted. 

“Deploy the hydrofoils, and brace for impact,” McGarrett warned with deceptive calm. 

“Sir, it’s the middle of the ocean. There’s no appreciable land mass for miles around,” the pilot called out from his jump-seat. 

“Yes, thank you, Lieutenant, I can read a map,” Steve interjected with a wicked chuckle. 

“How will we find our way home?” Kekoa worried. 

“Don’t they teach Celestial Navigation at the Academy anymore?” McGarrett wondered. 

“Yes, I mean, the basics, but….I mean…sir?” 

“Is there any ship you can’t crash?” Danno moaned. They were nose to nose, close enough that he could feel the stubble on Steve’s cheek, an exhilarating tickle of roughness. 

“For the last time, will you buckle your ass in a seat?” McGarrett growled, patting Danno affectionately before letting go of him. 

The soldiers were quiet as mice as the ocean loomed before them. The John Jacob skimmed and hopped once, twice, and then set down with a single, churning buck. The rocking of the waves was evident for a few seconds before the stabilizers were able to compensate. 

McGarrett was out of his seat, shutting down non-essential systems, and storming for the back of the small vessel while everyone else fought for composure, and a view out the front screen. The soldiers watched McGarrett, eyes wide with awe and wonder. McGarrett grabbed the ceiling, pulled a plate aside, and started nimbly turning a wheel in the hidden alcove he had bared. 

The rush of cool night air startled everyone. McGarrett was up and out of the ship, scrambling towards the rear, judging from the sounds of his boots striking the hull. 

“How did he…..?” the pilot asked as he stumbled to his feet and went to examine the empty pilot’s chair. 

“He waited for them to fire on us, sucked the energy from their shot into our power cells, and diverted it to our weapons battery,” Kekoa relayed, shaking her head as she tapped the fried-out weapons power indicator. It was stuck on 170 percent. 

“That shouldn’t be possible,” the pilot complained. 

“Guess for an old timer, the Commander still knows a trick or two,” the co-pilot smirked. 

“Stupid son of a bitch could have blown us to Kingdom Come,” the pilot whispered fearfully. 

“Luckily he didn’t.”


	11. Assessment

Danno was unbuckling Grace, and carrying her like a sack of potatoes towards the opening in the ship. He thrust her up through the top, and held onto one of her feet as he climbed up behind her. McGarrett was at the very back of the craft, peeling out of his clothes. He was a thin, dark silhouette against the purple, twilight sky. 

“Hey, Smart-ass! We’re facing the wrong way!” Danno called out. Grace was crawling on her hands and knees along the hull, intent on reaching Steve’s location. The waves were lapping the sides of the vessel, but only the largest rolls caused spray to crash this far up. 

“No shit,” McGarrett called back to Danno. He was down to his black briefs, discarded clothes folded neatly on the deck. Boots to one side. “Tell the crew to come up top. And whoever tossed their cookies needs to make quick work of hosing the interior down, wiki wiki, please, thank you.” 

Danno turned to call out the orders, when he saw the crew was already emerging one by one like curious prairie dogs out of a burrow. His head whirled back around as he heard a splash. 

“Swab the ship, loser,” Lieutenant Kekoa was teasing a young soldier. She patted his head, and he descended back down into the vessel. Everyone else was up top, grabbing a hand-hold, and sitting flat on their butts. 

“So many stars,” they were whispering back and forth. 

“Where’d he go?” Danno asked Grace. His daughter pointed down into the dark water. How far out had McGarrett had to dive to avoid hitting any part of the ship? There was an ominous creaking coming from down there, along with the intermittent lapping of the waves. 

“Don’t worry, Danno. He’s a seal. He’ll be okay,” Grace said as she moved Steve’s boots in order to get a good look over the back of the ship. 

“Monkey, he’s not really a seal. It’s a job. Like Danno is a cop? Steve was a kind of soldier called a SEALIE.” 

“Oksana said he’s part fish. That he can swim better than he can walk.”

“Who is Oksana?” Danno wondered. 

“Frosty,” Grace explained. 

“Well, Frosty was exaggerating,” Danno replied. They both got down on their stomachs and held on tight, peering over. “Frosty tell you anything else interesting about Steve?” 

Grace shrugged. “Not really.”

“Tell me everything she said,” Danno pressed. 

“He likes peppermint panties.” 

Danno nodded, struggling to keep a straight face. 

“I’m quite sure you misunderstood, Monkey,” Danno finally offered. 

“She said he’s very ticklish. And he’s a momma’s boy. There he is!” she exclaimed happily. Danno put out a hand to keep her from falling over the side. 

“The hell are you doing, Animal?” Williams called out. 

There was a different lapping sound coming from below, like the outline of the ship had changed for a few seconds. A thump-clank, thump-clank was rising quickly up the back of the ship. Someone was also walking down the hull to join Danno and Gracie.

“You need any help down there, sir?” Kekoa called out. 

“As you were, Lieutenant. You probably don’t want to jump down. We’ve got company.” 

“Enemy vessels?” 

“Sharks,” Steve murmured. “They’re not man-eaters, but hey, they could be bored and hungry. No sense taking any chances. The hydrofoils are in great shape. No damage from the rough landing. They should keep us afloat until we can reach one of the islands.” 

“You couldn’t tell that from inside the ship?” Danno smirked.

“No.” 

McGarrett was climbing up a ladder, dripping wet, looming in the near darkness. He and Danno were nose to nose again. He was trailing a long line of seaweed behind him. He tried to shake it off, left, right, left. It wouldn’t budge. He hung on with both legs, tipped over backwards, and finally dislodged the trailing seaweed. Pulled himself upright again. Danno couldn’t take his eyes off those rippling stomach muscles. 

“You wanna move, or you want me to climb over you?” McGarrett grinned. 

Danno rocked to his feet and got out of the way, watching McGarrett climb up and stride past. Steve’s drenched briefs were clinging indecently to his other-wise bare body. Danno covered Grace’s eyes. His heart raced he thought about that lean, muscular form perched over his own. 

“Would you put on some damned clothes?” Williams called out. 

Steve dropped down through the opening without a word. 

“Stay here. Watch for dolphins,” Danno said as he pointed Grace’s head towards the ocean. He snatched up Steve’s clothes and boots, and followed him back down into the ship. 

“…. Sorry for…. You know….. sir,” the embarrassed soldier said as he finished hosing out the ship, sending the dirty water back towards the drain which led down and out through some hidden trail of pipes and compartments. 

McGarrett answered, “Nothing to be ashamed of, Ensign. My first planetary jump, I barfed inside my helmet. It went up my nose. In my eyes. In my hair. It was awful. Get up top. Take a few deep breaths. Stare at the horizon. It’ll help calm your stomach.”

“Thanks, sir,” the kid replied, scrambling up past Danno. 

McGarrett dropped into the pilot’s seat and swung back around to smile at Williams. He patted the co-pilot’s place. 

“If you’re going to be a backseat driver, you might as well be comfortable.” 

Danno threw Steve’s clothes in his face and dropped the boots with a thud. 

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t strut around naked in front of my eight-year-old daughter!” Danno hissed. 

“I’m not naked,” Steve protested. His briefs were practically translucent in the strange red light, and his wet skin was squeaking against the seat. Trails of sea water pooled around him on the floor. 

“You’re an animal. That’s what you are. An uncivilized beast.” 

Danno looked away as McGarrett slid out of his underwear, and into his pants, laughing softly. 

“Is everyone from Jersey this shy about their body?” Steve asked, wringing out the excess water from the underwear and tucking them into a pocket.

“I’m not shy about my body! I’m shy about yours!” Danno bellowed. 

“Okay, buddy. Get a grip,” Steve said, pulling his braid straight and squeezing the excess water out of it. 

“GET A GRIP?! You just crashed a ship with my baby inside!” Danno screamed. McGarrett winced, closed one eye, and dodged back from the sound. 

“ ‘Kay. Understood. No more crash landings with Grace on board.”

“YOU GODDAMNED RIGHT!” Danno added. 

“I’m sorry,” Steve offered, slipping back into his shirt. 

“IF YOU WANT TO RISK YOUR OWN LIFE, THAT’S FINE! IF YOU’VE GOT A DEATH WISH AND YOU’RE DETERMINED TO END IT ALL, THAT’S FINE! BUT DON’T YOU DARE, DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE, DON’T YOU PUT MY GRACIE IN DANGER! I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF! WITH MY BARE HANDS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!?”

“ ‘Sorry,” Steve replied meekly, squirming sideways in his seat, getting away from the arm-waving, gesticulating menace. 

“My daughter is my life!” Danno concluded, stomping back and forth through the vessel, which at the moment felt like a tiny tin can, too small to contain him. He whirled to make a dramatic exit, and found Lieutenant Kekoa had climbed down unnoticed. She smiled at him, and he frowned at her. 

“Sir, I’ve got that sensor report you asked for,” the co-pilot offered. 

“Go ahead, Lieutenant,” McGarrett replied. Alika scooted nervously past Danno, trying to bite back another smile. 

“Don’t want to interrupt, but this could be important,” she said, directing Steve’s attention to one of the screens. Danno exerted his anger by kicking around a stray helmet or two. He picked up one to throw it, and Steve reached back, taking hold of the helmet. He must have seen Danno’s reflection in the front glass. 

“Will you sit down, please?” McGarrett begged. 

Danno threw himself into a standing position directly behind Steve’s chair, arms over his chest, face a grim mask of perturbed annoyance. 

“Fuck you. I’ll stand if I want to stand.” 

Steve shook his head, and faced Kekoa again. 

“Carry on, Lieutenant.” 

“There’s your ghost reading. The Hellwing mirrored this ship here. A water craft named Ku’ula Kai. A tuna boat. Beside the point. As we passed overhead, the Hellwing duplicated and projected the Ku’ula Kai’s identification beam against these ore deposits on these islands here, and made it look like Ku’ula Kai was in two places at once. The computer is programmed to ignore duplicate readings if they’re within a particular distance of a reflective ore deposit. That’s why we weren’t notified about the duplicate readings.” 

“Good job, Lieu,” Steve said while focusing the forward FLIR on the waters.

“What are you scanning for, sir?” the lieutenant asked, dropping into the co-pilot’s seat. “Survivors?” 

“No, I’m looking for pieces of the Hellwing that are large enough to allow identification.” 

“Good move. Every piece should have an ID number. We can tell where it was made, and what ship it was used to assemble,” Kekoa approved, judging from her expression. 

“We’ll skim for flotsam, and hope for the best. I’ll send out a coded signal. We can stay afloat until help arrives. Crew stays up top until daylight. That’ll let us conserve what power we have.”

“That’s a great plan, but the communications array is down,” Kekoa replied. Steve retrieved his cloak from the chair. 

“Here. Spread this out in a circle where the communications array was. It's magnetic. It'll stick to the hull. Just make sure it's as flat as possible.” 

“Are you serious?” 

“Follow the order, and come back down,” Steve insisted. The lieutenant was up the hole and back again in no time. Several heads peeked down after her. McGarrett was flipping communications buttons on the panel. The connection was crackling and not static-free, but it came to life. 

“I don’t believe it. Your cloak is a communications array? What else does it do?” Kekoa joked. 

“Technically speaking, you're bouncing the radio signal off a metal disc. The rest is classified,” McGarrett answered. 

“Understood, sir.”

“Get back up top.” 

“Yes, sir. But…” 

“What?” 

“The ghost reading, sir?” 

“Yes?” 

“That’s a pretty specific piece of knowledge. Not everyone would know that our computers are programmed to ignore duplicate signals near reflective ore deposits.” 

“I know.” 

Lieutenant Kekoa stared at McGarrett for a moment before she continued. 

“You’re trying to tell me that the less I say about what I suspect, the better it might be.” 

McGarrett cast a glance at the rest of the crew peeking down through the hatch. 

“That’s correct, Lieutenant.”

“Understood, sir. If you’re going to be down here, you’re going to need at least minimal life support too.” 

“If we open a few portals fore and aft, enough oxygen will filter through,” McGarrett smiled. “Do you carry emergency provisions?” 

“We have a hotbox.”

“We’ll eat the MREs if you have them. I’d like to conserve as much energy as possible. If we’re lucky, we can recharge the solar cells come daylight, get underway under our own power, and make it to one of the nearby islands. Wait for rescue there.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“But now that I think about it, if we’ve got a couple laser rifles, I can modify their power cells to charge the hotbox for a few meals.” 

“I just have one more question, sir,” Kekoa ventured nervously. 

“How did the crew of the Hellwing know our course?” McGarrett nodded. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Your mercenary buddy Frosty must have sold you out for another wad of dough,” Danno suggested. 

“Nah,” Steve disagreed. “Mercenaries are like feral cats.” 

“Yes, they are. If you annoy them, they will claw your face off,” Danno snorted. 

“No. If you feed them, and you’re nice to them, they will be your friend for life,” Steve corrected. 

“Have you spent a lot of time stroking Frosty’s back?” Danno smirked. 

“You’re got the wrong idea about me and her, buddy. I’m not her type. We used to work at cross purposes when she was in the Russian Intelligence Service.” 

“Who else knew we were here besides her?” Danno grumbled. 

“All Naval vessels, even classified crafts like this, have to register their intended flight plan, which means anyone with access to the classified air and space traffic controllers’ computer systems could have found our flight plan,” Steve replied. “Frosty is good, but she doesn’t have computer access to classified Naval intel.” 

“Who does have access?” Danno asked. 

“Anyone with a password,” Kekoa suggested. 

“Good. That narrows it down to, oh, only about fifty percent of the Hawaiian population,” Danno snorted. 

“Not just anyone has access. They had to have had Level 9 security clearance to reach the classified intel. Eyes Only. Those who authorize the flight plan. Those who fly the ship. Those who fuel the ship. Those who ride the ship. That limits it to a small group of people,” McGarrett reported, dropping his voice low. 

"You're saying it's an inside job?" Danno whispered. 

“You got enemies in Naval Intelligence?” Kekoa asked. 

“Do fish pee in the ocean?” McGarrett chuckled ruefully. “Yes, Lieutenant, I have enemies in Naval Intelligence. That’s why I requested a transfer to the SEALIEs in the first place.”

“I could rack up a list of Naval Intelligence officers currently stationed in Oahu, who logged into the system between last night and this morning, and did a search on your location?” 

“Have at it. The distress signal has been sent. Hope Chin has his ears open,” Steve sighed. “The helm is yours, Lieutenant. Where are those emergency provisions?”

“Back in C-7,” Kekoa motioned over one shoulder. 

“Any beef stew?” Steve asked hopefully. 

“Nobody eats that. I’m sure there is plenty of it,” she shuddered as she sat down. 

Danno followed Steve to the back of the vessel again. 

“How do you like your powdered eggs?” Steve asked playfully.

“You ain’t got no pasta?” Danno replied.


	12. Interrogation

“Thanks, Chin. I owe you one,” McGarrett said, casting an eye back over the beach. Exactly as ordered, the crew had combed the sand and pebbles smooth again, erasing every trace of the several hours they had spent there. Napping, swimming, eating, sunbathing. The little shits never had it so good!

“Leave no trace?” Kelly questioned. 

“Try, anyhow,” Steve shrugged. 

“Everyone’s on board except you, Boss,” Kono reported, popping out the open side of the ship. 

“I’m surprised you didn’t fell a few coconut trees, carve some make-shift oars, and row home from here,” Chin tormented in a brotherly tone as Steve followed him up the gang plank. McGarrett sat down on the decking, dusting off the bottoms of his feet. He pulled on socks, and pulled on his combat boots. The gang plank pulled itself in, and the door sealed with a satisfying skooshing sound. 

“We didn’t have time to carve oars. Thanks for picking us up,” Steve repeated. He dug in his pockets, and handed Chin a small collection of charred and scarred metal fragments in plastic bags.

“You spend the day beach combing?” Chin wondered. 

“Those are parts from the Hellwing fighter that fired on us. I’d like to see if we can squeeze some information out of these.” 

“Aye, sir,” Chin nodded. 

“No worries, brah. The repair crew will have the John Jacob back to Pearl Hickam in no time,” Kono replied. 

“How are things with your side of the investigation?” Steve inquired as he followed Chin to the rear of the vessel. He kept peering forward at the pilot and co-pilot, who were peering back at him, full of curiosity as they got a good look at McGarrett without trying to appear nosy. 

“Steve, they’re both experienced pilots,” Chin said. 

“Yeah, but…” 

“Steve…” 

“Yeah,” McGarrett nodded, acquiescing to let someone else fly the ship. But just this once!

The crew from the John Jacob were sunburned and smiling, relaxing in their jump seats. The only one who sat up bolt-straight was the pilot Jack, who was relaying tales quietly to the pilot and co-pilot of the rescue ship. 

“I cleared Counselor Edwards. He’s got substantiated alibis stretching as far back as last year. He can account for his whereabouts because his personal assistant is hell on wheels. He has an imbedded locator chip. She takes a transponder reading every two hours, and logs his position,” Chin said.

“Really?” Steve chuckled. “You mean like a stray pet?”

“Exactly like that. We know Counselor Edwards hasn’t been dealing with ex-military mercenaries and plotting to kill Governor Denning, because we can pinpoint and verify every meeting he’s had for the last year. Cross-referenced with confirmations from every person he met with. His assistant was so thorough, she made my butt ache,” Chin whined. 

“Boring,” Kono called out. She was peering out the windows between Chin’s seat and Steve’s seat, watching the small island disappear into the distance.

“What about your angle with Governor Denning’s poker buddies?” McGarrett asked Kalakaua. 

“They drink too much. They party too hard. They spend too much money on fishing boats and pleasure cruises. But unfortunately, none of them has done anything remotely illegal in regards to hiring someone to kill Denning, or the Princess, or the Counselor,” Kono reported. 

“Well you two are just full of helpful information,” McGarrett crackled in good humor.

“Least we didn’t spend our day lounging in the sun, frolicking on a private island,” Chin snorted. 

“Slacker,” Kono cooed. “Hey, Boss, why is that baby-faced haole giving you stink-eye?” Kono whispered. 

“My fault. I commandeered the Lieutenant’s ship, and had the bad manners to crash land it,” Steve whispered back. 

“Why is Jersey not speaking to you?” Chin wondered. 

“I scrambled his powdered eggs, and he had to eat MRE beef stew two meals in a row.”

“Did you at least apologize?” Kono scolded. 

“He asked for sunny-side up. Powdered eggs don’t come in sunny-side up. I had to hotwire the hotbox, burned my fingers doing it, and he’s gotta be a crybaby about no yolks in his eggs?” Steve defended. “Besides, once we reached the atoll, I caught fish for him, and found him some pineapples, and bananas, and mangos, and… look, he’s moody. I dunno what I did. Probably he’s mad because there wasn’t any pasta. He gets cranky if you make him go without pasta.” 

“Hey! I’m part Italian! I need my pasta!” Danno called out, well-aware they were talking about him. Lieutenant Kekoa came out of the alcove near the rear of the vessel, bringing a tablet forward to hand it to McGarrett. 

“Here’s your short list,” she reported in a soft voice. Kono, Chin, and Steve all stood up straight, hanging onto the ceiling handles which drooped like teardrops. 

“Three names. That’s promising,” Chin clucked. 

“That is very do-able,” Kono agreed. 

“Any of these names familiar to you, sir?” Kekoa asked. 

Danno shot up out of his seat, taking the tablet away from McGarrett. The rest of the crew was attempting to look disinterested, but they were all hanging on every word. Avoiding eye contact, but listening for all they were worth. 

“Commander Joe White? Lieutenant Catherine Rollins? Admiral David Cleaver?”

After he read the names, Danno handed the tablet back to Steve. Grace was in the seat next to Danno’s place, turned around in her chair, looking out the windows at the passing scenery. Danno was bored stiff, and anxious for something meaningful to do. He had had to stow his previous investigation into the dead soldiers found behind Mama Poloi’s pizza place. Cabbaging onto the investigation into the attack at Iolani Palace was a welcome distraction. 

“What’s biting your ass now?” Steve growled at Danno.

“A myriad of sand mites and water-borne parasites. While you were playing Robinson Crusoe on the island all day, I’ve been thinking about our case. What if we’ve got this all wrong?” Danno murmured. 

“What did we get wrong?” Steve wondered. “If they weren’t after Denning, he is pretty big fish to count as mere, coincidental collateral damage. If they weren’t after Counselor Edwards, he took a lot of collateral damage for being an innocent bystander. That leaves Princess Rachel, or Princess Grace,” Steve whispered softly. 

“Any connection between these people and the Governor?” Kekoa asked. 

“Which one?” Chin puzzled. “Denning or Jameson?” 

“Both,” Kono nodded. 

“Any connection between these people and you, Steven?” Danno interjected. 

“Are you suggesting I was the target of the attack on Iolani Palace?” McGarrett asked Williams. 

“I’ve only known you for a couple days, and I want to kill you. I imagine you have that effect on a lot of people,” Danno defended. 

“Why you gotta lie, Danno? You know you like me. I am the most charming human being you have ever met, and you know it,” Steve retorted crossly. 

“My ass,” Danno snorted back. “Do you know these people?” 

“I know all three of them very well,” Steve admitted. “But you’re barking up the wrong tree. I wasn’t the target at Iolani Palace. The question we should be asking is if any of these people has a connection to anyone who was at the party two nights ago.” 

“You,” Chin nodded. 

“You,” Kono agreed.

“You,” Kekoa added in. 

“This isn’t about me. No one had to blow up the palace to get their hands on me. I’ve been standing out front of the fucking thing for weeks. All they needed to do was walk up, knock me over the head or shoot me in the face, and run. Why wait until Edwards was celebrating his negotiations with the Samoans? Why wait until the one and only night both the princesses would be at the palace? That cannot be a coincidence. There has to be someone else who was at the party who has a connection to these three people,” McGarrett protested. 

“Tell us what your connection is, and we’ll go from there,” Kekoa pressed firmly. 

“White was one of my commanding officers in the SEALIEs. Cleaver was in Naval Intelligence at the same time I was.”

“What about Rollins?” Danno asked. 

McGarrett hesitated, and Danno nudged him with an elbow in the side. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Danno teased. 

“Rollins and I served together. She’s a good soldier. Why are you smiling like that?” Steve wondered. 

“Why are you blushing?” Danno whispered with a carnivorous leer. 

“What kind of missions?” Chin asked. 

“Reconnaissance. Intelligence-gathering. Extractions. What?” Steve grunted.

“Nothing besides that?” Kono was fighting a smile. 

“We hung out a couple times off-duty.”

“Point-blank, sir, was there anything personal going on between you and Rollins?” Kekoa poked and prodded. 

“It’s against regulations to carry on a personal relationship with a subordinate officer. If my superiors thought I was having a relationship with Rollins, it would have ended my career,” McGarrett bristled. 

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, sir.” 

“It’s bound to happen. You can’t stop it. It’s nature. You put two people together, two people who are attracted to each other, and it’s only going to be a matter of time before they are at each other,” Danno interjected, rocking against Steve as the ship swayed with turbulence. 

“ ‘At each other’?” Steve frowned. 

“It’s nature. It’s biology. It’s unavoidable. You can’t fight it,” Danno continued. 

“Sir, were you bumping uglies with Rollins?” Kekoa demanded. 

“Was I what?” Steve gasped uncomfortably. 

“Were you and she involved in a sexual relationship?” Kono asked slowly. 

“There is no piece of ass in this galaxy worth losing my career,” Steve retorted. Danno grinned wickedly as everyone else looked embarrassed. 

“You clearly haven’t had the right piece of ass yet, Babe,” Williams suggested playfully.

“There’s no need to be defensive, sir. We’re all human. I’ve seen pictures. She’s pretty. No one would blame you if you had a moment of weakness,” Kekoa countered as Steve gave Danno a puzzled stare, like part of his brain had short-circuited from Williams’ last remark. 

“Lieutenant Rollins is not my girlfriend,” Steve replied between clenched teeth. 

“All right. She’s not your girlfriend. Is there a reason why your ‘not-my-girlfriend’ could be mad at you?” Danno wondered. 

“Cath might be a bit angry, but she would not level the Honolulu waterfront and Iolani Palace to get back at me,” Steve retorted. 

“What would she do?” Danno asked. 

“She’d punch me in the face, scream at me, and then storm off dramatically,” Steve shrugged. 

“Could she be mad at you?” Chin snatched at the admission. 

“Maybe. Fuck, I don’t know,” Steve pouted. 

“What did you do to her?” Kono wondered. McGarrett took a deep breath, expelled it through his nose, and shifted his feet while staring at the floor.

“I wouldn’t let her come on the hostage extraction in the Gavla system.”

“What?” Kekoa gasped. 

“I put her on a temporary desk assignment so she couldn’t be part of the extraction team,” Steve repeated, lifting his chin. 

“You didn’t have the authority to reassign Rollins. She wasn’t a member of the SEALIEs. She’s in Naval Intelligence. Why would she have gone with your team to Gavla in the first place?” Kekoa wondered. 

“The SEALIEs travel with military advisors when needed. Cath acted as a military advisor on missions in systems where she had done reconnaissance. She pulled strings to get herself assigned to go with my team to Gavla. I pulled strings to get her reassigned. End of story.” 

“You sidelined your ‘not-my-girlfriend’ for personal reasons?” Kekoa whispered. 

“It was a suicide mission. We all knew that. Freddie. Me. Everybody. They were sending us out for a target they had no hope of retrieving alive. We were sent to pick up a corpse. I didn’t want Cath to die needlessly,” Steve muttered angrily. 

“What happened?” Danno asked. 

“She cursed me out in three languages. She was standing on the runway, still waving her arms and shouting at me as we took off. The extraction mission went smoothly. It was easy. Too easy, in retrospect. We were ambushed on the way back. Lost our two escort fighters in the asteroid belt, and had to put the transport down hard on Gavla 6. The ship broke up when it struck. The bastards circled over us for hours after we crashed, and they pummeled everything that moved. We weren’t located by scavengers, like Governor Jameson said. The brass sent a second SEALIE team to retrieve the ambassador. They knew there were other survivors, but they didn’t care. We didn’t matter. That second SEALIE team walked over us to get to the ambassador, and then they left us behind. I watched my team die one by one, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I was pinned down in the rear of the ship. Last fucking time I let anyone else drive. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t hardly breathe. I couldn’t feel most of my right side. If there’s one thing I was grateful for, it’s that Cath wasn’t lying there too, torn to bloody pieces and dying from exposure, while I couldn’t lift a finger to save her,” Steve growled the words bitterly. 

“It’s okay,” Danno whispered. 

“No. It. Is. Not. Okay. I watched the light drain out of my best friend’s eyes. He was two feet away me when he passed. His legs had been ripped off, and his skull had been smashed,” Steve mourned. He struggled away from the hand Danno tried to smooth along the small of his back. 

“Could Rollins have been mad enough about the reassignment that she would come after you after all this time?” Kekoa wondered quietly after a few seconds of silence. Danno didn’t like the way Steve was breathing rapidly, and how his limbs trembled. He was reliving the nightmare in his mind’s eye, and Danno felt awful for dragging those terrible memories to the surface. 

“That temporary assignment saved her fucking life. I doubt Cath is holding it against me whatsoever,” Steve growled, turning his pain and his shame into snarled, hate-filled syllables. 

“What you were saying was she wasn’t good enough to take on your mission,” Kekoa replied. 

“No, Lieutenant. What I was saying was I love you, and I don’t want you to die,” Steve’s voice trembled as he bit off the words. 

“Maybe if she had gone along, it might have made the difference between life and death,” Kono offered gently. 

Steve coughed up then swallowed down an ugly sound somewhere between a sob and a seething hiss.

“You goddamn right it made all the difference! She’s alive because she wasn’t there! End of story!” McGarrett shouted. Kono recoiled, and bit her mouth closed. 

“It’s clear you’re touchy on the topic. Let’s put Rollins aside. Tell us about White and Cleaver,” Danno urged. 

McGarrett shook off the hand Danno had slipped on his arm. 

“Joe and I were close. He wouldn’t have any reason to want me dead,” Steve answered, struggling to put the emotions away again. He turned away from them all, spinning in the handle to look out the windows instead. 

“What about Cleaver?” Chin asked. Steve didn’t answer. His eyes were distant. His face slowly went slack. His mouth tightened to a thin line. “Steve? What about Cleaver?” 

“I busted his jaw and knocked out his front teeth. But that was a long time ago.” A cold wall had come down between McGarrett and his emotions. His mercurial eyes were lifeless and cold. 

“Why did you attack Cleaver?” Chin wondered. 

“I can’t talk about it,” Steve sighed. 

The other three looked to Kekoa, who lowered her tablet. 

“The file is sealed. A matter of military security. Eyes Only,” she explained. 

“There’s a gag order on the case. I’m not allowed to discuss it,” Steve answered. 

“Attorneys, defendant, witnesses – no one is allowed to talk about it,” Kekoa continued. “Scuttlebutt around Pearl Hickam is, Cleaver likes to use his wife as a punching bag. Any truth to that, sir?” 

“I can’t comment,” Steve said simply. 

“Paw the ground with your hooves,” Danno suggested. “One stomp for yes. Two stomps for no.” 

“I guess you think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” Steve growled, whirling around and advancing at Danno with one very loud stomp. He had flamed back to life, losing control of his emotions again because of Danno's prodding. 

“ ‘Kay, Babe. Simmer down,” Danno chuckled. 

“Once we get back to Oahu, we should check the alibis for Commander White, Lieutenant Rollins, and Admiral Cleaver,” Chin decided. Kono agreed. Danno was attempting to pat Steve’s side to calm his temper. 

“I’ll take Cleaver if you like?” Lieutenant Kekoa offered. 

“He’s all yours,” Chin sighed with relief. 

“I’ll find Rollins,” Kono offered. 

“Good. You two wanna thumb-wrestle for White, or do you want to interrogate him together?” Chin grinned at Danno and McGarrett. 

“Let Kono take Joe. I’ll talk to Cath by myself,” Steve growled. 

“Kono, you find Commander White. Kekoa, you follow up with Admiral Cleaver. Danno and Boss, you get to have a chat with ‘not my girlfriend’,” Chin decided. 

“What are you gonna do?” Williams asked. 

“I’ll be having tea with the Worcestershires. I get to try and convince them that their granddaughter has been on a luxury cruise back from a spa resort vacation, and that’s why she’s sunburned, and her hair is full of sand, and she’s singing sea chanties full of dirty words that would make a sailor blush. If I survive the encounter, I’ll contact you all later this evening.” 

“Good luck with that,” Danno chuckled. 

“You oughta be getting hazard pay,” Kono insisted. 

“You want some advice? Let Grace do all the talking,” Danno suggested, watching the tension in McGarrett’s broad shoulders as he moved down the line slightly, holding onto the ceiling handles and gazing forlornly out the windows.


	13. Sundown

“Commander McGarrett? You’ve got a lot of nerve showing your face around here, buster!” 

A hush fell over the crowded bar as the off-duty soldiers parted like waves. The wise ones were ducking for cover, because it was clear the proverbial shit was about to hit the fan. Even the music came to a screeching stop. 

“Lieutenant Rollins,” Steve murmured nervously. He broke into a quick grin which made him look about twelve. “Wow. You look great.” 

Danno peered up over McGarrett’s big shoulder. The tiny brunette woman stalking angrily towards them was doubling up her fist. Danno had a second or two to decide she was kinda pretty before her features screwed up tight with hatred. She reached backwards with her right hand like she was gonna haul a freighter into dry dock using that one fist. 

The punch caught Steve square in the jaw, and levelled him right into Danno’s embrace. The big SEALIE dropped, seeing stars. Danno landed flat on his butt, cradling the stunned man between his legs. He hiked up both knees alongside Steve’s hips, listening to the big man moan. Danno patted Steve’s stomach. Steve stared woozily at Danno, a comical expression of helpless wonder on his face. Danno wanted to laugh but he didn’t dare. 

“Cath, you mad at me?” Steve wondered deliriously, rolling over and attempting to pull himself upright. 

Rollins snarled and hissed, raised a boot, and took aim at Steve’s vulnerable midsection. Danno cried out in warning. At the very last second, McGarrett’s hands shot forward, snatching Rollins’ boot firmly. He flipped the small soldier backwards and upside-down. Rollins landed on the floor on her stomach. She shrieked in fury, scrambling to get a distance away before McGarrett was on his feet. But it was too late. He clasped her by the back of her neck like an angry cat and lifted her into the air. Rollins was screaming bloody murder as McGarrett chucked her up over one shoulder, and turned to head for the door. 

“You coming, Danno?” Steve asked Williams casually, extending him a hand up from the floor. Danno stood up, dusted himself off, and followed a second or two behind the howling. 

Lieutenant Rollins was biting and scratching McGarrett until they were in the dark alley between the bar and the restaurant next door. Then the growling, hissing, and spitting turned more carnal in nature. 

“Steve…. oh God… Steve…. I thought you were dead.” 

Rollins was sobbing now, arms latched around McGarrett’s neck as she smacked lingering kisses all over Steve’s face and forehead, smoothing fingers through his long hair which had become disheveled during their little, domestic fracas. People going into the restaurant next door were staring their direction

“You look like a fucking mongrel dog, Steve.” 

“You miss me?” Steve squeaked boyishly, attempting to pull Rollins off, but not so much that she would actually stop smooching him. 

“You stupid bastard! I never thought I’d ever see you again, and I hated you and I hated myself. I couldn’t stand that the last words I ever said to you were so cruel, and I’m so sorry I shouted at you. You saved my life by kicking me off the Gavla extraction. I understand that now. I hated you, and I missed you, and I cried for weeks,” Rollins sobbed as she sucked another hungry kiss or two before her fingers went from Steve’s hair to the buttons on his shirt. 

“Whoa. Hey. Okay then. Imma give you two some privacy,” Danno blurted as Rollins made quick work of Steve’s fly buttons, started on his belt, and went down on her knees. Subtle, she was not. 

“Danno, stay,” Steve pleaded. 

“No, Babe. Public threesomes in dark alleys are not my thing. I gotta be somewhere else, on the other side of the planet, like an hour ago,” Danno protested. Steve chuckled huskily, tugging on Danno’s shoulder with one hand while side-stepping and taking Rollins’ hand out of his open fly. 

“Please stay,” Steve begged. 

“Who the hell is this?” Rollins asked, turning to notice Danno finally.

“Cath, this is my partner Danno,” Steve groaned. 

“Detective Sergeant Daniel Williams. We’re investigating the attack on the Iolani Palace and the Honolulu waterfront,” Danno explained. 

“He’s a little short for a SEALIE, isn’t he?” Rollins asked derisively as Steve buttoned his pants and closed his belt once more. He tugged his rumpled shirt down over his front, but it did very little to hide his obvious interest in what Rollins had had in mind. 

“At least I don’t sound like I’ve been inhaling helium,” Danno smirked at Rollins. “ ‘Not my girlfriend’?” he taunted Steve playfully, crossing his arms over his chest. “How many of your other subordinate officers are in the habit of sticking their hands in your pants, Babe?” 

“I have a way with people. You’d be surprised,” Steve purred lustfully to Danno before facing Rollins. “Cath, I need to know where you were when Iolani Palace was attacked the other night.” 

“That’s it, McGarrett? You don’t speak to me for almost a fucking year, and you show up now, asking me for an alibi?” Rollins shouted angrily. 

“This is important. And in my defense, I was kinda busy, lying at Death’s door in the hospital for the first eight or nine months of that year, so really, you can only be mad at me for a couple months or so, tops. Am I right?” Steve pleaded. Danno hated to admit it, but he might have been persuaded by that argument and Steve’s boyish charm. Rollins continued to make nasty faces as she averted her face. 

“All you ever think about is yourself,” she snorted. 

“If that’s what you wanna believe, fine,” Steve shrugged. 

“I was on duty on the Enterprise when the palace was attacked,” Rollins growled. 

“Can anyone corroborate?” 

“You are unbelievable. Only the rest of the crew working Intel while you were sipping champagne and sweet-talking that blonde bitch out of her panties?” Cath snorted. 

“Watch your mouth, Lieutenant. Nobody was talking anybody out of their panties,” Steve scolded. He waited a beat. “Besides, she wasn’t wearing any.”

“STEVE?!?!”

“Not under those pants she wasn’t.” 

Cath glared moodily at him, ready to claw his eyes out. Steve’s shoulders went up to his ears. 

“Why you mad at me? You were the one who explained visible underwear lines. It’s all I notice now at those parties. I can’t help it.” 

“The Navy had eyes on you all night. You and Morozova looked pretty fucking friendly from where I was standing,” Rollins muttered. 

“Navy Intel had the governor’s party under surveillance?” Steve brightened. 

“Of course we did,” Rollins pouted. 

“Okay. Who do I have to fuck to get that footage?” Steve asked bluntly before letting a charming grin take over his face. 

“Good luck with that, Flyboy. Surveillance was Admiral David Cleaver’s idea,” Rollins taunted. 

“Not much chance then, Babe?” Danno crooned. 

“Never say never,” Steve joked. 

“I’d pay good money…..” Danno rasped. Steve’s mercurial eyes burned for a second or two as he held Danno in his gaze. 

“So public threesomes are a ‘no’, but voyeurism tickles your fancy?” Steve pursued the thought. Danno didn’t say yes or no, but he cackled like a chipmunk, a sign he was nervous or annoyed. Cath glared back and forth as they bantered. 

“Cleaver wanted the party under surveillance because of the Samoans being there. He’s sure they’re up to something,” Rollins interjected. “He can vouch for me being on the ship. If you want the footage, you’ll have to talk to him.” 

“There’s no point. Cleaver will only tell me to get fucked. I’ll request the surveillance footage through official channels. Do an end-run around Cleaver. Is it worth the effort of fighting Cleaver for the footage? Did you see anything worth noting?” Steve asked. 

“You mean besides you chatting up the Russian military?” 

“Former Russian military,” Steve reminded her. 

“No. Nothing of any significance. The wait staff was bringing in the flaming dessert when smoke started pouring from the door frames. That was the first sign of danger,” Cath reported. 

“Same thing we saw,” Danno sighed with disappointment. 

“We’ve gotta comb that footage again with better software,” McGarrett decided. “We’re not seeing something that’s there. I’m sure of it.” 

“Is that all you need from me?” Rollins wondered. 

“Yeah, Cath. You’re free to go. Sorry to interrupt your evening,” Steve offered. Rollins goggled at him in disbelief, shaking her head. 

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. Sorry again.” 

Rollins spat out a short laugh full of pain and anger. 

“You son of a bitch. Sea foam has more emotion than you do!” Rollins snorted, pulling her disheveled clothes back together and smoothing her hair down again. 

“What’d I do?” Steve wondered helplessly. 

“You don’t call. You don’t write. You don’t bother to look me up when you get back to Hawaii, even when you know good and well the Enterprise is docked here on long-term assignment. Don’t give me any bullshit about having to investigate your father’s death. You couldn’t care less about him, and you didn’t miss me in the least. But the second you needed something from me, it took you like ten minutes to find me.” 

“You’re wrong. I missed you every day, Cath. But after how mad you were about Gavla, after what happened to the team, I figured I was the last person you’d ever want to see again,” Steve said sadly, eyes on the ground, face blunt with pain. 

“Jesus Fucking Christ, McGarrett. Could you be any more oblivious? What do I have to do to get inside those walls?” Rollins muttered, throwing her hands up in the air as she turned away. 

“Cath?” Steve whispered, hand reaching out. 

“Save your breath, Commander. I hate you. I hate the very air you breathe. You’re like fucking a brick wall,” Rollins snarled. “A fucking brick wall. Whatever. You’re a goddamn automaton!” she corrected herself with a snort as she yanked open the door and disappeared inside the club. 

Steve’s brow furrowed. He leaned back against the wall behind him, features blurred by the darkness in the alley. He was rasping for breath, trembling with aborted pleasure and confusion. Steve’s shoulders went up and down and filled with tension before sagging with dejection. 

“Babe, I’m gonna go out on a limb, and say not being in a relationship with you ain’t easy,” Danno commented quietly. 

“I don’t understand why she’s mad at me,” Steve moaned, looking lost and helpless. Looking disheveled and delicious too. 

“It would take too long to explain,” Danno began, taking Steve by one arm.


	14. Here There Be Monsters

“Chin reported in,” McGarrett was saying as he tucked his percom back into his pocket. “Take a left ahead.” 

“Yes, sir. You sure you wouldn’t be more comfortable in the backseat?” the taxi driver asked for the sixteenth time. 

“No,” Steve replied with a dark frown. 

“What did Chin have to say?” Danno wondered as he scooted forward in the rear seat, dodging Steve’s flying hair. The braid, and more specifically its weighted end, had smacked Williams in the head a couple times already. 

“He said he sent you a message, but you didn’t reply.”

Danno frisked himself for his percom, and came up empty. 

“I must have dropped it in the bar,” he grumbled. 

“Rusty will send it over. He’ll know it’s a police issue percom. It’ll be waiting for you at work tomorrow morning,” McGarrett reassured him. “Take a right at the next intersection.” 

“Where are we headed?” Danno wondered. They had passed the outskirts of the city a few blocks back. This wasn’t exactly the boonies, but it was getting more and more residential with each street. 

“A place I know,” Steve shrugged. He rolled his jaw and rubbed the growing bruise that Rollins had given him. In a few days, it would match the green and yellow bruise from his fight with the goons at Mama Poloi’s. Danno sat back quietly in his seat and took hold of Steve’s long braid when it threatened to smack him in the head again. The hair was soft to the touch, with hints of gray and black and blue in it. As much as Danno liked the long braid, it seemed out of place on an official officer of the law. 

“Piikoi Street?” the cabbie confirmed. He slowed the hovercraft, whistling softly as they pulled along the tree-lined street and stopped in front of a three-story house with windows all around. Parked in the driveway were two vehicles – a double-wide, dark blue hovercraft with police lights, and a piece-of-crap beater which rested at an odd angle. Williams instinctively knew where they were.

“Is this your house?” Danno blurted as the cabbie crawled into the driveway. He extended a small, flat, black box at Steve. McGarrett dropped a palm on the device, and money changed hands electronically, the total climbing to an astronomical sum to drive out here. 

“Tip?” the cabbie smiled hopefully. Steve dug in a pocket and produced actual money, giving it all to the driver. “You’re too generous, sir.” 

He peeped in alarm when McGarrett wrapped a fist into the front of his shirt and pulled him nose to nose. 

“Forget this address. Forget my face. Understood?” 

“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my taxi?” the cabbie babbled. 

“Good man,” Steve responded with a dangerous chuckle. 

Danno climbed out, stretching his back side to side, rotating his hips like he was imitating a Hawaiian hula before settling down again. McGarrett shouldered his duffel, watching Danno stretch and rotate. It was apparently a hypnotic sight. The taxi was gone in a flash, no more than a wink of lights on the distant horizon in minutes. All they could hear were birds and night insects, and a very close whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Like a churning washing machine, only bigger. Much bigger. 

“I thought you weren’t allowed to carry money,” Danno frowned. 

“I can carry money. You can’t give me money. You cannot be seen offering me kindness or succor.” 

“Yeah, I caught that before. Nobody watching now. Can I be nice to you now?” 

“The gods are always watching,” Steve replied, eyes on the sky.

“Babe, you have been holding out on me,” Danno complained, mouth hanging open again as they climbed the front porch and encountered the front door. McGarrett exhaled loudly, hand shaking as he reached for the flat, black panel beside the door knob. 

“Wonder if the security system will recognize me,” McGarrett whispered. He touched the panel, and it lit up brightly. Blue letters spelled out STEVE, and the door skooshed open. 

Lights followed them into the premises, flicking off and on as they walked into the living room. Danno stared around in awe. It was spotless, even if it hadn’t been redecorated in twenty years. The house was filled with models of starships, and memorabilia from all over the galaxy. He walked through, hands skimming ships he had only heard about in legend and song. Steve ignored the ships, and walked to the curio cabinet filled with bits and bobs from various planets. He appeared to be blinking back tears for a second before he cleared his throat and faced Danno again. 

“My dad liked models,” Steve explained softly, putting the duffel down on the divan as they walked past it. “You hungry?” 

“Do fish pee in the ocean?” Danno confirmed. 

Steve headed for the kitchen with Danno on his heels. There were dirty dishes in the sink. McGarrett frowned at them, like they had personally insulted his mother. The hotbox on the counter was twice the size of the one in the hotel room, an older model sure, but capable of making food for six or seven instead of one person at a time. The icebox was as big as a moose, taller than McGarrett himself. He flipped open the top compartment, withdrawing a silvery bag. He took out one piece of food, and handed the bag to Danno. McGarrett stuffed the dark brown circle into his mouth, and shoved the shiny wrapper into the recycling chute. He looked pleased for a millisecond before he glared up at the ceiling. He produced his weapon in the blink of an eye, and he circled back towards the stairs which led to the second floor. 

Steve left the kitchen, stalking away like a disgruntled cat who had just has his tail pulled. He smelled like peppermint. Danno shook the bag he was holding. He hoped there was more on the menu tonight besides frozen, chocolate peppermint patties. He opened the bottom of the icebox, and let out a gasp of happiness. It was wall to wall liquor.

Williams could hear McGarrett’s footsteps as he prowled stealthily up the stairs. Danno tracked the sound of those big-ass boots as they moved through the second story, and climbed another set of steps to the third floor. Danny hungrily devoured several of the peppermint patties before putting the rest back in the top of the icebox. 

While McGarrett was prowling around, clearing the residence of restless spirits, Danno walked towards the one room which was closed off from the rest of the house. It was glass and wood, and dusty from disuse. There was a small piece of yellow and black tape attached to one side of the doorframe, the familiar reverse diagonal lines which indicated this had been an ILEF police crime scene. Williams touched the cold, metal knob, and turned tentatively. The room wasn’t locked. He pushed his way inside, and immediately wished he hadn’t intruded. 

The first thing that stuck Williams was the smell of blood and decay. There was a window on the far wall which had a busted pane of glass in it, but the breeze which managed to penetrate here did nothing to dispel the sickly-sweet stench. 

The detective ran a hand over the light panel. The room was a study – filled with more models, memorabilia, books, and pictures. He caught his breath in surprise. Generations of McGarretts haunted this room, staring down stern disapproval from the walls, the desk, the fireplace mantel. Those bushy brows and that stern frown were an inherited trait going back a long way in the family tree, apparently. 

There was a bookcase in the corner. The irreplaceable tomes and texts covered all topics Naval, Aeronautical, Astronomical, and Astrophysical. The entire corner was coated with bits of blood, bone, and brain matter. John McGarrett had died there on that spot, Williams had no doubt. Someone with no compunctions about taking a human life, or corrupting priceless antiques, had shoved an old man into the corner of the room and blown his head apart. His death had been quick, but it had left a mark. There was a space on the floor where Steve’s father had fallen and lain in a pool of growing blood. 

No wonder Steve kept the door closed and didn’t come in here. Out of deference, Danno walked straight back for the door, turned off the lights, and closed the tomb once more. Williams yelped and doubled up a fist as he turned around. McGarrett was standing right behind him, a wall with a chest, and shoulders, and a squared jaw. 

“Wear a bell, would you?!” Danno exclaimed. 

“Don’t go in there,” Steve pleaded. There was something small and frightened in McGarrett’s voice, a tone Danno had never heard before from him, nor wanted to hear again. 

“Okay, Babe,” Danno agreed. 

Steve put one hand against the study door, fingers extended like a dead starfish on the beach. Danno gave him a few moments of peace. Williams was perusing the alcoholic contents of the bottom of the icebox when Steve returned to the kitchen. 

“ ‘Can I interest you in a drink?’ ” Danno asked, pretending to be Steve. “Why sure! I’d love a drink, partner!” he added happily as himself. McGarrett almost smiled before becoming serious again. 

“It’s not my house. It’s my dad’s house,” Steve answered to the question Danno had raised on the porch. 

“I understand,” Danno soothed. 

“I don’t feel comfortable here. Not since I left. But we need a place to sleep tonight. I’ll get us a place closer to the city tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Danno whispered. 

“There’s four bedrooms. Bunk wherever you like.” 

“Okay,” Danno agreed gently. “Where are you going to sleep?” 

“There’s a couple old chairs on the lanai,” Steve mumbled as he motioned numbly towards the door which led to the back porch. Danno’s brow furrowed. Shit. Being here was harder on Steve than he thought if the man wasn’t even going to sleep inside the house!

“You know, I’ll join you. I haven’t camped out in years,” Danno offered brightly. “You go get cleaned up. I’ll get some blankets and pillows.” 

“I…um….” Steve stammered. 

“Go on,” Danno pushed him towards the stairs again. Steve stumbled stonily for the steps. “You better have some fucking pasta programmed into this hotbox, Seal Boy,” Williams threatened McGarrett from a safe distance. 

Thirty minutes later, both men were showered and redressed in sleeping clothes. Well, clothes they could sleep in, at any rate. Steve was in head-to-toe black, slightly rumbled, like the clothes had been stuffed in another duffel bag. Danno had no doubt that somewhere in the house was a closet full of emergency duffel bags for every occasion. 

Danno had been snooping in the laundry hallway, and had found an old dresser. The dresser was stuffed to the brim with an astounding variety of clothes in all shapes and sizes. He assumed they were for visitors. Boys’ clothes, girls’ clothes, men’s and women’s too. This house had once been filled with people, and laughter, and parties on the lanai. The smell of food. The clink of glasses. What in the hell had happened to turn this beautiful home into a haunted, desolate tomb?

The linen closet on the second floor was filled with blankets and pillows. Danno had pulled the two wooden chairs as close to the house as possible, and stuffed them with blankets and pillows. The two men were going to look like matching larvae in huge cocoons. 

McGarrett had not been idle. While Danno had readied the chairs and taken a shower in the downstairs bathroom, Steve had set the table on the brick porch. There was a plate of shrimp and noodles and steamed veggies, and a plate of filled with meatballs and spaghetti, brimming with red tomato sauce. 

Danno emerged from the house with a towel on his head, wearing a pair of rolled-up sweats and a big blue shirt emblazoned with the SEALIEs’ familiar logo – a trident and an anchor and a Galaxy-class starship’s nose poking through. The stones were chilly against his bare feet. But he saw nothing but the food on the table. Steve was filling two glasses with wine. From a bottle. He was sharing real, actual, bottled and stored, dusted-off and allowed to breathe, red wine. Danno was floored. 

“Mr. McGarrett, are you trying to seduce me?” Williams grinned. Steve tilted his head in puzzlement, and handed Danno the glass. Danno took the towel off his head, and laid it over the back of his seat at the table. His hair hung in curls and waves. He ran one hand over each side, smoothed it down, and let it go. 

“Do you want to talk about Chin’s message?” Steve asked. 

“Yes,” Danno nodded, taking a long drag of red wine before sliding into the seat in front of the pasta. 

“Rachel’s parents are going to open their home to Grace while Stan and Rachel are recovering from the attack on Iolani Palace.”

“One of their homes,” Danno murmured. 

“Grace will be safe there,” Steve soothed. “No one is getting through the Worchestershires’ defenses. She’ll be safe there until we sort this out.”

“It’s the safest place for her to be,” Danno agreed. 

“You can call and video her all you want, but you cannot show up on their doorstep and demand to take her away.” 

“Understood. Why?” Danno wondered. 

“That goes for Rachel too.” 

“Okay.” 

“After this is all said and done, the family has agreed, and Rachel has agreed, to renegotiate your visitation rights.” 

“With a court on London Prime?” 

“No. Because you live on Hawaii now, it will be a neutral court here on Hawaii, as long as it’s understood that everyone will abide by the court’s decision.” 

“Understood. I want my daughter to be safe. That’s all I’m asking. I want her to be safe, and I want to spend time with her. Wherever she goes, I’ll go,” Danno explained. 

Steve nodded grimly, picking up his own glass and sitting down. 

“Can I ask a question?” Williams pressed. 

“As long as it’s not about my relationship with Rollins, sure,” Steve snorted. 

“I thought you weren’t in a relationship with Rollins,” Danno grinned. Steve stared at him stonily. Danno deflated. “Who left the dirty dishes in the sink?” 

“I gave a friend permission to stay here when he needs a place to crash. His housekeeping skills are not his foremost asset,” Steve mused while digging his sticks of death out of a pocket and adjusting them in his fingers. 

“Why are you living in the courtyard of Iolani Palace, when you’ve got a place like this to come home to?” 

“I can’t guard Iolani Palace from Piikoi Street.”

“You aren’t on duty twenty-six hours a day, Steven,” Danno pointed out with the tines of his fork. 

“This isn’t my house. It’s my dad’s house. It will always be my dad’s house. I haven’t lived here since I was sixteen, and my mom died, and my father sent me and my sister away. This isn’t my home any more. It belongs to my father, and he didn’t want me here. Did he? He sent my sister to live with my Aunt Deb, and he shoved my ass into the Naval Academy. So, you know, I don’t feel right, laying down my head in a place where I’m not wanted.” 

“Bitter much?” Danno whispered. 

“Kiss my ass,” Steve muttered. 

McGarrett began to eat, and eat, and eat, in a stony silence that spread out like a dark cloak of pain around them. The SEALIE seethed with internal agony with each bite. Danno started into his plate of pasta, gnawing on the over-sized meatballs, rolling the noodles, sucking down the delicious sauce. He lamented the lack of garlic toast, but wasn’t going to say anything. It took him a while to work up the nerve to speak again. 

“Steve, your father is dead. He’s not coming back. He can’t make up for the ways he went wrong, for making you feel like he didn’t want you here. Maybe you ought to consider letting go of your anger, and letting bygones be bygones?” 

Steve sighed heavily, using his sticks to push his food around. 

“Sorry, Danno. You’re right. I don’t mean to take it out on you. It’s not your fault. We had a lot of unresolved issues, me and my dad,” Steve offered a few moments later. 

“Oh, Babe. Unresolved daddy issues? I can relate. I mean, fuck, have you met my dad?” 

“No,” Steve attempted a little smile. 

“Me. But taller. Much taller. And don’t think that wasn’t the first thing the crotchety bastard noticed when Mom brought me home from the hospital. ‘Put him back in the oven. He ain’t done baking yet.’ Yeah. His first words to me. I kid you not. Nice, eh?” Danno grumbled. “I need some bread. Can I bring you anything?” 

“Nope.” 

“Back in a flash.” 

Not that the distance between the back porch and the kitchen made any difference. Danno continued to talk to Steve and argue with the hotbox about type of bread, type of butter, type of cheese to go on top. 

“No, you bastard. I said provolone, not mozzarella. What heathen programmed your menus? Yes, it’s a hard, white cheese. No, it’s not the same thing. So, like I was saying, Babe, I can relate to you feeling like you have been nothing but a disappointment to your dad. That’s what dads are there for, McGarrett. They push you down in the dirt, and tell you you’re worthless, and that you’ll never amount to anything if you don’t get your head out of your ass. And then moms come along, and they pick you up, kiss away the hurt, and tell you how you’re the best thing that ever happened to them, and they love you just the way you are.” 

“Not in my experience,” Steve retorted. He was standing at the door to the inside, rubbing the doorframe with one shoulder like a nervous feral cat. 

“If it weren’t for my mom, I would never have applied to the ILEF Academy.” 

“If you weren’t a cop, what would you be?” Steve latched onto the tangent anxiously. 

“I’d be boosting expensive hovercrafts off the Jersey Turnpike,” Danno grinned. The hotbox beeped. He pulled open the front, and extracted the steaming-hot, freshly-toasted, covered in cheese, thick slices of Italian bread. “Now you’re talking!” he exclaimed happily, porting the plate over to McGarrett. 

“You good with cars?” Steve asked, picking up a piece of toast and nibbling on it politely as he followed Danno back to the table. 

“I can hotwire anything that flies,” Danno reported conspiratorially. 

“Good to know,” Steve smiled faintly. Danno was sopping up pasta sauce with his bread, sighing happily with contentment as he chewed his way through several slices. 

“What about you?” 

“I wanted to be a cop like my dad. But he told me to be anything but a cop.” 

“See? Reverse psychology. I bet he wanted you to be a cop all along. Now you’re a cop. You are making him proud. You’re following in his footsteps,” Danno soothed. 

“I have not been the best cop, you realize? So far, I suck. My dad is dead, and the case is unsolved because I have no leads. The palace has been levelled, and the governor is dead, and I’m only two months into this gig. Think what I will accomplish when I really begin to apply myself!” Steve derided himself viciously. 

“Grace is alive because of you. I’m alive because of you. And Denning went down fighting. And the palace wasn’t levelled, you dramatic prick. It’s missing a few bricks. They’ll have it back together in no time. Quit your pissing and moaning, will you?” 

“I’m a dramatic prick?” Steve questioned. 

“Tell me about your mom.” 

“Nope,” Steve refused. 

“Come on. We’re having a moment here. I’ll tell you about my mom,” Danno offered.

“Go on.” 

“She’s tiny, like me. Blonde, like me. Talks a mile a minute, like me. She is beautiful and charming, and kind. She dazzles people like a movie star, even when we were going to mall. I couldn’t help but always wonder how a fucking mook like my dad landed the best-looking dame in all of Jersey.” 

Steve murmured, “You ever find out?” 

“Me.” 

“You what?” 

“I’m the reason they got married.”

Steve puzzled for a moment, and then made a soundless ‘o’. 

“One too many Bloody Marys, and my mom seals her fate for all eternity.” 

“Now who is being dramatic?” Steve chuckled. 

“ ‘The first kid can come at any time, but the second one always takes nine months.’ You don’t know how often I heard that when I was growing up,” Danno lamented.

“Sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault. But you know, that used to piss me off to no end. And then I grew up, and went to college, and I learned some psychology. I’m thinking my dad is projecting his own self-doubt and self-loathing onto me, because he couldn’t believe his good fortune either. My dad could never believe that a dirt-poor kid like him landed the best-looking dame in all of Jersey either. My best hypothesis is that my dad has spent my life kidney-punching my ego, so I understand that I’m lucky, like he was lucky, and that I shouldn’t take anything for granted. Except I don’t feel so lucky, you know?” 

“Yup,” Steve agreed. 

“Especially since I met you.” 

“I warned you I’m poino,” Steve sighed. 

“Maybe your dad was projecting his own self-doubt onto you.”

“Maybe. What about your mom?” 

“What about my mom?” 

“Did you ever ask her why she hooked up with your dad?” 

“Of course I did,” Danno smiled. 

“What’d she say?” 

“He makes her feel safe.” 

“That’s nice,” Steve nodded hopefully. Danno was frowning. 

“No, it’s not,” Danno disagreed. 

“Why not?” Steve wondered. 

“When it all boils down to it, my mom married the biggest caveman she could find, because he had the best chance of protecting her from harm. Millions of years of evolution, and we humans can’t escape the basic truth that the biggest, dick-swinging caveman is invariably the leader of any pack he’s in, and he always gets the best-looking girl.”

“Hmm,” Steve grunted in agreement. He waited a beat, then smiled at Danno. He had a sense he had said something wrong, but as it only been a grunt of approval, he wasn’t sure how to analyze Danno’s disgruntled expression.

“Don’t make me come over there and smack you,” Williams warned. “She did not say she loved him. She said he made her feel safe. I think that is profoundly sad.” 

“Okay. You win. It’s sad.” 

“Don’t think my dad doesn’t know that on some level. The gods have been kicking me in the teeth for years now, just like my dad. What do you think that makes me think?” 

“Like maybe you need to go through a cleansing ceremony?” Steve teased gently. 

“Cleansing ceremony? Like I drink nothing but tea for a week?” 

“Like a priest performs a cleansing ritual with coconut water and sea water, and burns sacred herbs to drive away your demons and your bad aura.”

“You really believe in that shit?” Danno wondered, one eye narrowed. 

“Don’t make me come over there and smack you,” Steve grunted. 

“Would it work?” Danno wondered. 

“It does for some.” 

“I will if you will,” Danno offered abruptly. McGarrett’s bushy brows went north. 

“You first?”

“Me first. Sure thing.” 

“Imma hold you to that. I know a guy,” Steve responded, snorkeling his way through his noodles now that all the veggies were gone. He was eating the food one distinct type at a time. Veggies first. Noodles second. Shrimp third. 

“Your turn,” Danno retorted. 

“What?” Steve garbled the word, noodle hanging out of his mouth. 

“Tell me about your mother, in twenty words or less.”

“No thanks, buddy. I’ve had my psych eval this quarter.” Steve shook his head with a wry laugh. 

“I want to talk about your mother, not your mental problems.” 

“Aren’t they one in the same?” 

“Are they?” Danno persisted, eyes glittering wickedly. 

“Mm hmm. I see what you did there,” Steve grunted again. “I’m not saying another word.” 

“But you said four, at least. Okay, we’ll talk about something else.” 

“Yes. Please. Thank you.” 

“Like, hey, I know! Let’s talk about the two goons who turned up dead in a dumpster behind your favorite pizza parlor in Oahu?” Danno chuckled maliciously as Steve mumbled to himself. 

“Can I finish dinner before you put me in thumb-screws?” McGarrett hoped. 

“You knew them?” 

“Yes, I knew them. The Hesse Brothers. Anton and Victor.” 

“I’ve seen footage. They recognized you, and they were giving you shit about being homeless on the city streets. Am I right?” 

“You’re right.” 

“They had no idea you were undercover?” 

“Nobody was suspicious of me but you,” Steve smiled. 

“I wasn’t suspicious. I felt sorry for you,” Danno admitted. 

“Awww. Aren’t you sweet?” Steve purred, reaching over to stroke Danno’s hairy forearm. It felt like he'd been touched by an electric eel. Danno trembled and jerked his arm away.

“Fuck you, you big mook. Did you kill the Hesse Brothers to protect your cover?” 

“I didn’t kill them, but thanks for suspecting me.” 

“I wouldn’t blame you if you had killed them.” 

“I appreciate that. But I didn’t kill them. They were alive when I last saw them.”

“When you were beating the living shit out them both together?” 

“Yeah,” Steve purred happily, like it was a fond memory. 

“If it wasn’t you who killed them, who else would have wanted them dead?” 

“Coulda been any number of people.” 

“Tell me about the Hesse Brothers.” 

“They were ex-New London military. Gun-runners and human traffickers nowadays. No shortage of people who might want them dead. Maybe they were in on the plan to attack the palace. Or maybe they stumbled onto something they shouldn’t have stumbled onto, and they had to be taken out. Yakuza. Rival smugglers. Military MPs working off-duty, cleaning up the trash on Hawaii. I dunno, man.”

“There’s no need to get defensive.” 

“I don’t know who killed them, and I don’t care. I’m a cop, not a soothsayer. Besides, it’s not my case, is it? Nie moj cyrk, nie moje malpy.” 

“What does that mean? Is that Hawaiian?” 

“No. It’s Polish. Not my circus, not my monkey. It means it’s not my problem. It’s your problem. Good luck with your case, Detective.” 

“Asshole. What’s that noise?” Danno paused, putting down his fork. 

Steve was instantly standing out of his chair, laser pistol in hand, heading back into the house. He nervously circled around the brick patio. 

“What noise?” Steve whispered over one shoulder, gun aimed at the open porch. 

“That,” Danno whispered back. Steve paused, turning back around. 

“What?” 

“Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.” 

Steve rolled his eyes, and tucked away his gun. 

“It’s the ocean, Daniel,” the SEALIE answered with a painful sigh. 

“Really?”

“Really.” 

“Man, that’s loud,” Danno whined. 

“You get used to it eventually.” 

“How close are we?” 

“Couple hundred yards that way,” Steve pointed, walking around the table to stuff his last shrimp into his mouth. 

“That close, huh?” Danno worried. 

“I’ll take you for a swim in the morning,” Steve offered. 

“The hell you will,” Danno barked in protest. 

“You can’t swim?” Steve gasped. 

“I can swim. I choose not to. Some of us weren’t born wearing board shorts. Is it gonna do that all night?” 

“Do what?” Steve wondered, snatching up a piece of garlic toast, and dipping it into the red sauce on Danno’s plate. 

“Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.” 

Steve stared at Danno in concern for a few seconds, gnawing on the sopping toast. 

“Yup,” McGarrett confirmed with his mouth full.


	15. In A Room Where You Do What You Don't Confess

“Steve?”

McGarrett woke up screaming, gripping the throat of the person hovering over him. Powerful hands pummeled his chest, and strong fingers pried at his hands, until he let go. Steve rasped for breath, wraiths of white rising around him in the chilly air, like the demons dissipating from his uneasy dreams. Danno sat down unsteadily on the foot of Steve’s wooden chair, out of arms’ reach. Williams rubbed his bruised throat as he eyeballed McGarrett. 

“You might consider therapy,” Danno rasped. 

“Don’t sneak up on me!” Steve growled, holding his pounding heart. “What is the matter with you?” 

“It’s the ocean. I can’t sleep. I want to go inside.” 

“You had to wake me up to tell me that?” Steve demanded sourly. 

“The door is locked.” 

“What?” 

“Is the security system programmed to prevent entry after a certain hour?”

“I used to have a midnight curfew,” Steve whispered, climbing to his feet. 

“What?” Danno mumbled, dragging a blanket and pillow behind him. 

“My dad. He programmed the house for a midnight curfew. If you weren’t in before midnight, you didn’t get in.” 

“Nice….” Danno pouted sarcastically. 

Steve put a beefy palm on the security panel on the back porch. Another message appeared. NO, in red letters, and a frowny face too. Steve tried again, and the frowny face reappeared, along with a furrowed brow. 

“Now what?” Danno asked. 

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Steve sighed. 

“My panties are just fine, asshole. Why don’t you perform some special-ops SEALIE trick, and open the door already?” 

“Maybe I will,” Steve sulked. 

McGarrett prowled around to the side of the porch, stretched his back and his arms, and then leapt up into the air like a cat. His sinewy fingers found purchase on the very edge of the porch roof. He used his fingertips to pull himself up to his elbows, and then leveraged his arms to pull a leg up. From there, he rolled over onto the roof, and climbed to his knees. Steve plastered himself against the nearest window. Danno gulped and tried his best to not imagine how that kind of physical dexterity might translate to the bedroom.

“Problems?” Danno whispered. 

Steve’s head appeared over the edge. 

“Toss me my sticks.” 

Danno retrieved the two pencil-like instruments from the table, and tossed them up to Steve one at a time. McGarrett snatched them out of mid-air. He put one sideways in his teeth, and used the other to pry the faceplate off the security box on the second story. He must have been rewiring the system. Danno watched as all the windows on the ground floor came up, then slid back down. An emergency metal sheet dropped around the back porch, an inch from his bare feet, crashing loudly into the blanket and pillow-laden chairs. Danno was surprised the neighbors on both sides hadn’t heard the racket. 

Steve was cursing softly in Chinese as he frantically unhitched the wires once more. Danno couldn’t help but snort and smile. 

The metal sheet rolled back up. Danno straightened the chairs. The back door beeped, and popped open. Williams headed quickly inside, dragging as many pillows and blankets as he could carry. He left them in a pile in the living room next to the big L-shaped couch, and padded quickly up to the second floor. 

Steve was climbing inside. He reached one long arm back out through the open window to replace the faceplate on the security box, then closed the window. 

Danno touched the light panel on the bedroom wall. Although it had been dusted and kept clear of cobwebs, time had stopped in this room, like the study downstairs. The bedroom was filled with high school books and study tablets. The closet held a teen boy’s clothes. There was a surf board leaning against one wall. There were blue and green plaid sheets and bedcovers. There were posters of flashy space vessels and beautiful men and women in tight uniforms on the walls. Recruitment posters for the Navy from twenty-five years ago. Small models of starships hung from the ceiling. There were six different solar systems plotted out meticulously from the perspective of the small bed. 

Danno’s eyes were drawn to dozens of balls of yarn and the multi-colored knitted squares which were strewn around and under the chair by the windows. The squares were roughly the same shape, and looked like the separate panels of an afghan which had never been assembled. Underneath the chair was the cloth bag that Steve had been carrying around the courtyard, which he had been very careful not to pass through the security system at the palace.

“Did your mom like to knit?” Danno wondered.

“Um, no,” Steve stammered. He hurried Danno out of the room, and the light turned off automatically behind them. Steve nervously shifted his sticks back and forth between his hands, and finally hid them from view, using his other hand to push his hair out of his face. 

Danno narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but headed back downstairs. Steve returned to the room for a second, came back out, and ran to catch up to Danno. Williams was tossing pillows and blankets around the crook of the couch, forming a make-shift bed around the contours of the L-shaped furniture. Steve picked up a pillow, and sheepishly watched him. McGarrett must have left the two sticks in the room upstairs. 

“You waiting for me to tuck you in?” Danno wondered, planting his butt on the short half of the couch. Steve burrowed his way under the blankets, tucking his pillow into the junction of the two halves of the divan. Danno balled up under the covers, and laid down at the same time. They banged skulls. Danno grumbled. Steve muffled his own chuckle as he stood up and away. 

“It folds out,” Steve whispered, pointing awkwardly with one hand while rubbing his head. 

“What?” Danno muttered, rubbing his crown too. 

“The divan. It folds out.” 

“You wanna demonstrate?” Danno demanded, standing out of the way as Steve pulled the longer half of the L backwards, revealing a mattress hidden in the folds. 

Danno positioned the blankets and pillows, half to one side and half to the other side, barely restraining the urge to pound Steve’s smiley face with the fluffy bedding. The two men nervously nestled into their own blankets on distinct halves of the fold-out mattress. Danno sighed, and glared at the ceiling as he tucked his arms outside the blankets, and piled his hands together on his full stomach. It was no use now trying to sleep. He was wide awake, and that was not likely to change in the immediate future. Danno glanced over in the near darkness. 

McGarrett was balled up on his right side, eyes clenched tight, mouth a thin line, knees almost up to his chest. His eyes were drooping as he watched Danno. It wasn’t mistrust Danno was seeing on Steve’s face. He wasn’t sure how to classify that look though. The detective chalked it up to SEALIE nervousness. 

“Wish I had my percom. I could send a message to Grace. I could read until I fall back to sleep,” Williams murmured.

“Hmm,” Steve grunted softly. 

“Insomnia,” Danno explained. “Some nights, I’m lucky to get a couple hours. It’s usually me, my percom, and a trashy novel.” 

A thin smile made one half of Steve’s mouth curl up. 

“Want bedtime story?” he offered with a mischievous twinkle in his hazel blue eyes. In the near darkness, his pupils were wide. 

“I guess you think you’re funny,” Danno frowned in reply. 

Steve shrugged and closed his eyes. 

“You know, it’s okay if you like to knit,” Danno murmured. 

Steve uncoiled with a gasp of horror, eyes popping open wide. 

“I….um…I….” 

McGarrett sat up, adjusting his pillow before pounding it flat again.

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Steve….” Danno whispered. He reached out, thinking he would contact with an arm or a shoulder. His fingers landed on a firm thigh as Steve scooted around to get comfortable. He jerked his hand away as if he had dropped it into an open flame. “Knitting is a great hobby. My grandmother used to make these wooly mufflers for us every year. Blue for me. Red for Matty. Gold for Stella. Green for Gloria.” 

“I….” 

“She said it was relaxing.” 

“I…” 

“I won’t tell anyone.” 

“Dexterity test,” the big man blurted. He stretched out on his back, and covered his face with his pillow. Danno sat up, staring at him in concern. He reached over and pulled the pillow off Steve’s face. 

“What are you, five?” Danno scolded gently. 

“Dexterity test,” McGarrett repeated.

“Because of the injuries to your right hand and arm?” 

“Yes.”

Danno chuckled. “I’m not judging.”

“Small motor skills were very hard for me at first. I needed to improve my grip, to be able to handle a laser weapon properly. I had to do something to gain back my range of movement in my fingers. The knitting was Tank’s idea,” Steve rambled. 

“Tank? The captain at the hospital? The head nurse?” 

“Yes,” Steve moaned unhappily. Danno nodded solemnly, then lost himself into a burst of chipmunk giggles. Steve snatched up a pillow, and loomed over Danno, landing on him heavily while covering his face. It didn’t take Williams very long to scurry out from under, gasping for air and choking on laughter. 

“I’m not judging, Babe. It’s just…you know. I haven’t seen a man so embarrassed about his personal habits since I walked in on Matty jerking off in the bathroom when he was eleven.” 

Steve huffed, threw himself back on his own side of the bed, and curled up away from Danno. He missed the homesickness that took over Danno as Williams thought about his younger brother. His cherubic grin melted as sorrow washed over him. 

“I gotta call Matty. I haven’t seen him since I moved to Hawaii. He’s busy on New York right now. He works in finance, handling people’s money for them. My little brother? He got all the brains in the family.” 

“You should call him,” Steve agreed moodily. 

“I would if I had my percom.”

“Sorry,” Steve muttered. 

“Don’t pout,” Danno whispered. He pulled his pillow closer to Steve’s, and lay down behind him. “Is it me, or is it getting cold in here?” 

“Temperature is programmed to drop at night. It saves energy. It should kick in soon though,” Steve mumbled. 

“After all these years, your dad didn’t change the programming?” 

“Very set in his ways.” 

“I guess so,” Danno agreed. He burrowed under his covers, watching the back of Steve’s head. McGarrett’s shoulders were up to his ears, and his spine was like a broom handle. Something in Danno wanted to reach over and rub those tense shoulders. “Steve?” 

“What?” the SEALIE wailed. 

“If I buy you some yarn, will you make me a wooly muffler?” Danno asked playfully. 

Steve whirled around and slammed Danno repeatedly with his pillow. He was merciless, powerful, angry, and immediately embarrassed about the outburst. Danno was hooting with laughter again as Steve threw the pillow to the foot of the bed, and crawled away from his chortling chump of a partner. 

“Go to sleep!” Steve roared before balling up once more. 

Danno waited a few moments, letting calm overtake the room again. He heard the temperature control unit kick in. The musty smell of decay mingled with the ever-present pineapple stench which permeated the whole planet. He reached out in the darkness, and found one of Steve’s long feet. 

McGarrett yelped and struggled to get away. Danno stroked gently, enduring the pushing and shoving and poking. 

“Let go of me,” Steve hissed. 

“Calm down,” Danno whispered, massaging the SEALIE’s long toes.

“Let. Go. Of. ME!” Steve growled angrily before he reluctantly gave a soft groan. 

“Wearing those ridiculous high heels all day. It’s very hard on the feet,” Danno murmured.

 _“Which would be relevant if I wore high heels,”_ Steve hissed. Danno extracted another unwilling groan. 

“When we were married, Rachel would always complain about how much her feet hurt. I learned how to do top-notch foot massages. It was our little thing,” Danno continued. 

“Because that’s not at all creepy or inappropriate,” Steve started out sarcastic, but his tone gradually morphed. “That you….um… that’s… nice…” he mumbled, his voice getting quieter. He rolled onto his back, timidly extending his legs as Danno sat up. 

“You are a great big baby.” 

Williams watched in amusement as Steve gritted his entire face, steeling himself against the gentle touches along the bottom of his sole. 

“You don’t… have to… mmm… I am so not comfortable with this.” 

“Shut up,” Danno scolded in a gentle tone. “Give me a chance. These hands can work magic. I promise.” 

Steve grumbled cranky syllables of dismay and distress, but let Danno continue. It was rather like watching a tired toddler fight against sleep, and it was very endearing. 

“Those combat boots are bad for your feet in a different way. They’re too small for you, aren’t they? You know, standing for long periods of time can make your feet spread out. You should get bigger boots. Your toes keep banging the metal toe guards,” Danno murmured. He couldn’t help but notice the neatly-trimmed and buffed toenails. He had been right about Steve getting a pedicure at the resort spa! 

Steve moaned outright this time, pushing his toes forward, rotating his ankle, stretching his whole foot. 

“Love my boots,” McGarrett grunted. 

“Well, they don’t love you,” Danno scolded him. He switched to the other foot, following the same pattern, gently manipulating each toe, pulling tenderly to unwind each stiff joint, smoothing his thumb up and down the sole, gently following Steve’s arch. 

“Slippahs?” 

“No. Bad Steve. No slippahs. You should be nice to your feet. You need some loafers,” Danno urged. 

“My ass,” Steve snorted. 

“What’s not to like? They’ve got good arch support. Protection from all sides. Roll over,” Danno whispered. He put down Steve’s other foot, and patted the side of his leg. “Roll over, big goof.”

Steve’s eyes popped open in surprise. 

“What?” the big man stammered. 

“Roll over.”

“Why?” Steve wondered suspiciously. 

“I can’t reach your back if you’re lying on it,” Danno deadpanned. “Magic hands? All over your back? You know you wanna.” 

McGarrett gulped loudly. His long arms retreated up to top of his chest, and his fingers curled up on either side of the hollow of his throat. 

“I don’t know… if I’m comfortable with…” 

“McGarrett, I’m not trying to steal your virtue. Sleeping next to you is like being in bed with a broomstick. Gotta relax. Roll over,” Danno repeated. 

Steve flopped around gracelessly, like a huge sea lion on a sandy beach. It took him three scoots and a wiggle to nestle into the right place. Danno positioned himself to one side of those long thighs, and put his thumbs and fingers into place on McGarrett’s tense neck and shoulders. 

“You don’t know how to unwind, do you?” Danno asked. 

“I don’t need to unwind,” Steve pouted. 

"Stress is bad for your health. High blood pressure. Heart problems. Anxiety attacks. Are you being treated for PTSD?" Danno wondered. 

The tension in McGarrett's body increased ten-fold. Williams immediately started thinking about diversion topics to keep him from getting angry and rushing away.

“You can’t tell from the outside.” 

“What?” Steve wondered. He sounded exasperated and annoyed. 

“I can’t tell where the real-you ends and the artificial-you begins. It’s seamless. Your back and your sides – they feel perfectly normal.”

“That’s the whole idea,” Steve whispered. “You’re not foolin’ me.”

“I’m not?” Danno smiled. 

“…just…” 

“I’m just what?” Danno wondered as Steve interrupted himself with a guttural exhalation of pleasure. 

“Mmmmph.” 

“I can’t hear you,” Danno grinned. 

“You aren’t fooling me. I’m not falling for it.”

“Falling for what?” Danno wondered innocently. 

“You… sweet-talking me… with those magic fingers,” Steve complained.

“Am I?” Danno teased. He stroked Steve’s long braid out of the way, thumbing the nape of his neck. McGarrett shuddered and bucked his hips out of reflex. Danno licked his lips and fought for concentration. He spent the next few minutes working Steve's shoulders, hoping for another groan or two. 

“What color do you want?” Steve asked meekly. 

“Blue,” Danno teased the word into McGarrett’s ear, and the big man quivered deliciously. 

“ ‘kay,” Steve gulped. Danno’s hands slipped down the SEALIE’s spine, and found a good grip on his hips. He bent down, nosing gently at the nape of Steve’s neck. 

McGarrett grunted and rolled over. Danno wasn’t sure what to expect when Steve grabbed both sides of his head. Maybe the SEALIE was about to bite his nose off? He did not expect him to press their mouths together hungrily. Then it was like Steve realized mid-kiss what he was doing. He stopped and pulled slightly away, concern in his eyes. Danno moved in, and nibbled on Steve’s bottom lip. He dragged a whisper of pleasure out of McGarrett. 

“How long?” Steve fought for the words. 

Danno mustered a winning smile. 

“Longer than you might think,” Williams purred before diving in for another nibble and nuzzle. Steve huffed a tiny laugh, one hand sliding over Danno’s shoulder, resting his fingers on the center of Danno’s chest. The hand was a buffer, like he was nervous or uncomfortable, and wanted a measure of control over whether this continued. Danno dotted another small kiss to Steve’s chin, and waited. 

“The muffler?” Steve clarified, hazel-blue eyes shining with amusement. He wasn’t pushing Danno away. Maybe he just needed to catch his breath, or he needed to ease into this. How long had it been for McGarrett? Was this not the same guy who had strutted around naked without a care? Was this not the same guy whose ex-not-my-girlfriend had been inches from going down on him in a public alley? 

Inches. Don’t think inches. Don’t think inches. 

“You decide,” Danno shrugged as he nestled carefully between Steve’s long legs, tugging the SEALIE’s shirt hem northward. The SEALIE was watching him in complete disbelief, as if he couldn't imagine anyone would want to touch him. Danno got up close and personal with the red salamander as he licked and sucked one pert nipple. Steve arched up into him, fingers curling tight in Danno’s hair. Danno’s fingers worshipped Steve’s stomach, and traced identical paths around his waist. Fingertips began to slide Steve’s sweats down his hips. Danno hit a roadblock – Steve was already hard and very anxious. 

The needy sounds Steve started making were music to Danno’s ears. Beautiful, soft, pining sounds as he melted submissively into the mattress. Which Danno would not have expected in a million years. Unfortunately, those little yelps masked the sound of footsteps approaching them. Neither he nor Danno realized there was a figure standing right next to their shared bed. 

“Should I go outside and wait a few minutes, or can I grab a beer and watch?”


	16. Brothers in Arms

“Man, that is one helluva bruise.” 

McGarrett was leaning backwards against one door of the icebox, holding a cold beer to his reddened nipple. There were distinct teethmarks in his flesh. Steve didn’t seem at all angry at Danno. Probably he was thanking his lucky stars the bruise wasn’t south of the border, so to speak. 

McGarrett had his shirt hiked up far enough to reach under. He was not amused. He was staring hard at the newcomer who had crept up on them – a tall blond with the Nordic blue eyes and a jaw like a cinder block brick. Any other time, Danno might have been amused at the way this guy was making Steve bristle. The newcomer took a swig from his own beer, and cocked an interested glance towards Danno. Steve stepped sideways as if to protect Danno from the gaze. 

Williams was standing practically inside the other door of the icebox, able to hide his embarrassment by rooting around, at least for a few more seconds. Beer wasn’t going to cut it. He snagged a blue bottle of gin, and hoped there were glasses in easy reach nearby. The awkward silence lengthened as he opened a cabinet, found a glass, and poured himself a generous gulp of gin. 

“Smooth Dog, aren’t you going to introduce me?” 

“Nope.” 

“Shit. You are mad, aren’t ya?” the newcomer chortled. “Come on, Steve. Have a heart. That’s as close to actual sex as I’ve gotten in months.”

Steve growled something sarcastic under his breath. Danno’s ears pricked up at the noise. What language had that even been? Whatever Steve had said made the other man laugh out loudly. Danno poured himself a second shot of gin, and faced the two of them. He decided the new guy must be a soldier, a comrade of McGarrett’s from his time in the Navy. 

“Why are you so embarrassed? It’s not like that’s the first time I’ve seen you like in a compromising position. By the way, whatever happened to Not-My-Girlfriend?”

Danno chortled. McGarrett was muttering under his breath, not even forming real words at this point. 

“Do you dump her, or did she dump you? I just want to know if she’s available.” 

“Says the guy with three ex-wives?” 

“Anybody ever tell you how adorable you are when you’re mad?” the big blond beamed. 

“You and the horse you rode in on,” Steve grumbled. The newcomer frowned playfully. 

“How would you like a matching bruise on the other side?” 

Steve jerked back from the reaching, pinching fingers, and the newcomer turned his gaze to Danno. 

“Hi. I’m Ben Bailey. My friends call me ‘Lonestar’. I’m very sorry I interrupted you two. What were you doing to make him make noises like that?” 

“Don’t…” Steve warned Danno. The detective sputtered, taking another sip of gin.

“I sincerely hope that you and me, and you and Steve, and me and Steve, and you and me and Steve, are going to be friends. Good friends. Real good friends,” Lonestar drawled suggestively. 

Lonestar pushed a handshake towards Danno. Steve struck with the precision of a cobra with PMS. Before Danno could blink, or recoil completely out of the path, McGarrett had Bailey’s arm hitched up behind his back, and was escorting him out on the porch. All without dropping his beer. The two men had a heated conversation in deep whispers, standing nose to nose, which was a good trick for Steve, as he was a couple inches shorter than the other man. Lonestar cracked a large grin, and started laughing loudly again. 

“Shit, Steve, all right. You made your point. You can let go now.”

Danno peered around the corner of the icebox door, closing it very slowly and casually. The two men were returning. Lonestar was rubbing his shoulder, displaying impressive biceps as he nursed his pride more than anything else. One bicep bore a circle-enclosed star in gold and blue. The tattoo had been emblazoned over a terrible burn mark, making it look like there were wrinkles and dents in the metal star. His other arm bore the Navy anchor and trident, and his military ID numbers. Putting two and two together, the detective cleared his throat, and gave a careful smile. 

“I take it you know each other?” Danno ventured a guess. 

“We go way back,” Lonestar confirmed, slapping Steve hard on the ass and getting out of arms’ reach in two long strides as McGarrett whirled in fury to grab at him. 

“Lonestar and I were part of the same SEALIE team for a couple years,” Steve added, rubbing his bruised butt and glaring daggers at Lonestar. 

“Smooth Dog? More like Begging Puppy,” Lonestar teased. McGarrett flushed a delightful shade of pink. 

Danno’s first question of course was how this soldier had survived the ill-fated Gavla extraction mission, but he wasn’t sure how to broach the topic. Maybe Lonestar hadn’t been on that mission with that team. 

“He got out a year or so before Gavla,” Steve continued, as if he knew what Danno had been thinking. 

“Got out? That’s a polite way to put it,” Lonestar snorted. 

“Daniel Williams. Call me Danno. Great to meet you. I was beginning to believe the big Kahuna didn’t have a single friend in the universe.” 

“I got friends,” Steve insisted. 

“Danno,” Lonestar nodded. “I’d shake hands, but you know, he’s moody, and mighty territorial. And I really don’t wanna know how far up my ass his fist will reach.”

“Understood. You in the reserves too?” Danno asked, fighting a smile. 

“No, I’m retired from the military. Had no choice in the matter.” 

“Why is that?” 

Lonestar chuckled ruefully, banging the beer bottle against his right thigh and then his left. “Artificial. Both of them. From the hips down. ‘We can save your life, Bailey, but not your career’. It’s fifty/fifty at that point, you know?”

“I’m sorry,” Danno choked. 

“Don’t be sorry for me. I’m fine now. I won't lie to you. It did take a period of adjustment. But I’m sure Steve went through the same existential crisis that I went through. ‘I’m alive, but what the hell do I do with myself now that the Navy has no use for me?’ It makes you question what you’re fighting for, what you’re dying for. Makes you focus on the important things in life. Home. Family. Ohana. See, I do remember a little of the Hawaiian you taught me.” Lonestar warmed up a heart-felt, sincere look of affection for Steve. McGarrett’s foul expression softened if only slightly. He sheepishly latched an arm around Lonestar, and gave him a sideways hug. “See. I knew you wouldn’t stay mad forever,” Lonestar added, pulling Steve into a bruising hug which made his eyes bulge. 

“What brings you to Hawaii?” Danno wondered. 

“Aren’t you full of questions?” Lonestar grinned lazily. 

“He’s with the Rangers,” Steve said. 

“The Intergalactic Hockey League team?” Danno blurted. His face lit up like Christmas. Steve and Ben stared at each other in confusion and worry, and then back at Danno. 

“Not those Rangers,” Steve said. 

“Oh,” Danno deflated with disappointment. 

“The Texas Rangers,” Lonestar amended, producing a badge from an inside pocket. 

“Oh. Right. Okay. But why would an ILEF branch of Texas law enforcement be rooting around on Hawaii?” Danno wondered. 

“Official business,” Lonestar explained, tucking the badge away again. “I guess since Steve trusts you, I can too. My partner and I are on Hawaii, following up leads on a human trafficking ring which left twenty-eight people for dead in a crashed freighter in my jurisdiction. Steve has been kind enough to let me crash here while I’m planet-side.”

“Don’t leave dirty dishes in the sink,” McGarrett frowned. 

“Yes, sir,” Lonestar snapped as he saluted. 

“Where’s your partner?” Danno wondered. 

“She don’t like Steve. She decided to bunk elsewhere.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” McGarrett pouted. “She too good to sleep here?” Which was ironic from a guy who didn't want to sleep here either. 

“Hey, do not put me in the middle of this. I stick up for you as best I can, but frankly she’s had enough of your shit. She thinks you’re reckless and irresponsible, and that you need to stop blaming your parents for all your personal issues. It’s time you accept personal responsibility for the problems in your life.” 

“Personal issues?” Steve flamed up with color. 

“Any luck on your case?” Danno asked, hoping to defuse the fireworks brewing inside McGarrett. 

“None so far, but I got high hopes,” Lonestar replied. 

“I gotta say, I would not have taken you for a Texas Ranger, dressed like that. Do they teach SEALIEs how to look like unsavory, dangerous criminals?” Danno asked.

“I’m undercover,” Lonestar explained. 

“As what?” Danno snickered. 

“You really stink. What did you roll in?” Steve wondered, sniffing carefully around Lonestar’s shoulders and back. Danno’s ploy worked. They weren’t trying to kill each other, and they had given up on the pissing contest for the moment. 

“You like it?” Lonestar crooned.

“That’s….that’s… awful…” Steve sniffed and shuddered dramatically. 

“I crawled through a couple sewers, and rolled on dead things on the beach. I need to look the part if I have any hopes of convincing one of these coyotes that I am a desperate man in need of a cheap ride back to my home world.” 

“They aren’t called coyotes here. They’re called snakeheads,” Steve corrected. 

“I got my sights set on this little dickhead, snakehead, whatever they’re called here,” Lonestar hummed. “Ponytail-wearing jackass is what he is. Sang Min. You know him?” 

“Oh, I know him,” Steve confirmed with a vigorous nod and a quick snerk. 

“What’s his weakness? How can I get to him?” 

“Grow boobs?” 

“That’s not helpful,” Lonestar mourned. “Maybe I could get my partner to…” 

“No…” 

“…Work some of her feminine…” 

“No,” Steve said more firmly. 

“…Magic on him?” 

“Fuck no,” Steve growled. 

“Hate to have to point out the obvious here, buddy, but that’s not up to you. If Sang Min’s weakness is boobs, my partner in a tight dress might be the only way we get a chance to solve this case.” 

Steve got right up in Lonestar’s face, nose to nose. Danno pulled them apart, pushing them gently in opposite directions. 

“You think that deadeye stare is going to dissuade me?” Lonestar croaked. “Don’t make me give you an atomic wedgie. I will make you squeal like a nine-year old,” Lonestar grinned, towering over Steve. McGarrett set down his beer bottle. This was about to get serious. 

“Am I going to have to splash you two with cold water?” Danno warned, getting between them, pushing them in opposite directions again. He kept a hand on Steve's chest, centered over his heart. Steve gave Danno a moody frown, but he did obey. 

“You’re lucky I don’t want to embarrass you in front of your buddy here,” Lonestar teased. 

“Why don’t we all get some sleep? We can talk about our respective cases in the morning,” Danno suggested. 

“I would love to get some sleep,” Lonestar admitted. “But…” 

“But what?” Danno wondered. 

“You two were making out like horny teenagers on my bed,” Lonestar chortled. “Think I’d prefer to bunk elsewhere, if you don’t mind.” 

“You take Mary’s room. I’ll take my room. Danno can keep the couch. How’s that?” Steve ordered on his way up the stairs. Danno deflated with disappointment, finished his gin, and left the glass in the sink just to spite Steve. 

“Mmm mmm mmm,” Lonestar hummed. “Must be difficult walking around with that stick up your ass all the time, McGarrett.”

“Good night, Danno,” Steve called from the second story. 

“Good night, Danno,” Lonestar chortled. He slapped Williams on the shoulder, and made his way up the stairs. There were squeaking footsteps in the middle of the hallway between the two rooms. Danno thought he heard whispers and growls, a flurry of hands smacking around. A thud hit the wall. Plaster dust shook from the ceiling. 

“Don’t make me come up there,” Danno warned loudly, picking up a pillow and preparing to launch himself back into the bedcovers. Alone. Unhappy. 

“No problem,” Lonestar grunted in pain. A door opened. “It’s pink. It’s goddamn pink, Steve. You’re really going to make me sleep in a pink room,” he wailed in distress. 

Steve trotted quickly back down the stairs. He carried his dented, wire-wrapped, half-melted percom over to Danno. Sidled up to him timidly. Offered the percom with lowered eyes and a soft throat noise. 

“I… um… there’s a couple books on it. In case. You know. You can’t sleep. Sorry. Good night,” Steve said again. He leaned down and bumped his cheek against Danno’s, then fled back up the stairs in three strides. His bedroom door closed with a loud bang. 

Danno smiled, rubbed his cheek, and held the percom to his heart. 

“That was the cutest thing I’ve seen in my ENTIRE FUCKING LIFE!” Lonestar bellowed from the second story hallway. 

“Shut up, asshole,” Steve called back from behind the closed door. 

“You better be nice to me. I’m gonna tell my partner you’re being a dick. I need a toothbrush. And a towel.” 

Steve’s door opened. There was another exchange of whispers and yelps. Another thump against the hallway wall. Sounded like it was going to be a long night up there. 

Danno turned out the lights and climbed into bed, holding Steve’s percom in one hand, being careful of the sharp wires wrapped around it. He thumbed the broken screen, and started searching for the books.


	17. Morning Sunshine

A gentle bump on the head found its way down into Danno’s dream world. Whoever or whatever had patted him was gone before he reached the surface. He peeked out through half-lidded eyes. The house was dark. The temperature control unit had kicked in again, spreading the horrible smell from the study around the house. 

The back door opened and closed. Seconds later, a second pair of feet shuffled down the steps. 

“You ever heard of sleeping in, Steve? Of course you haven’t. Goddamn stick up your ass….” 

Lonestar muttered his way through the living room, the kitchen, and out the back door, where he bellowed loudly. 

“Wait for me, goddamn it!” 

Danno grunted and smirked. Were the SEALIEs bonding over their morning exercise regime? Aww, how cute. He rolled over and went right back to sleep. He was snoring again in seconds. Danno was not so far under that he didn’t hear another set of footsteps entering the house. These were not bare feet shuffling directly on the floors. These were boots. Heavy heel. Small person. There was a figure bending over him. A weapon was holstered. A woman sighed in annoyance. 

“Steeeeeeeeve….” She drawled softly. 

Danno was awake, and reaching for his rolled-up sweatpants in the space of a second and a half. The small woman inside the house went directly to the verboten study door. Danno could only see her from behind. Her reddish-blonde hair stood up in a weird combination of pikes and peaks around a flattened top. She had a bad case of ‘Hat Head’. She was dressed in a white shirt and tan trousers, and had a gunbelt slung around her hips, tilted down on the right by the weight of her laser pistol. She was holding a cowboy hat. Danno stood up to pull on his pants. 

“Hello?” he mumbled, following her to the study doorway. 

“Oh, Dad,” the stranger whispered softly, shaking her head as she proceeded into the study. 

“Can I help you?” Danno wanted to say. He got out a syllable or two, cleared his throat, and rubbed his scruffy face. 

The tiny woman turned around. Her sad eyes, the same color as Steve’s eyes, were reflecting the dim light of dawn coming through the study windows. 

“Can I help you?” Danno repeated. She gave a tiny smirk. Her eyes landed on the SEALIEs shirt he was wearing. She stuck her right hand at him after switching her hat to her left hand. 

“Mary McGarrett.” 

“Daniel Williams. Danno. Hey. How ya’ doin’?”

Mary squinted as she closed the study door. Perhaps that was an odd question to ask someone on the threshold of the room where their parent had been murdered. 

“I’ve been better,” she admitted freely. “When…” 

“Couple of months ago. I’m sorry about your father. It was a botched robbery. No leads. Steve’s still in charge of the case officially, but…” Danno rambled. 

“I know about my dad already,” Mary murmured. “I was talking about you.”

“What about me?” 

Mary blinked at Danno, and patiently rubbed the brim of her hat. It occurred to Danno that she was wearing cowboy boots. And that she had a badge flipped open in her breast pocket. He examined the badge while trying to not be obvious about it. Jesus Christ! Steve’s baby sister was a Texas Ranger?! 

“How long have you and my brother been surf buddies?” Mary asked, a playful smile twitching on her impish face. 

“I don’t… I’m sorry. I don’t know what that means.”

“What happened to Not-My-Girlfriend?” 

“I…” Danno stammered. 

“Not that I was particularly fond of her. She seemed like an opportunistic bitch to me. Using Steve to climb through the ranks, and get her out of tight spots she got herself in to. But you? You’re kinda different for Steve. You know what I mean?”

“How am I different?” Danno wondered. 

Mary’s eyes travelled up and down Danno, and back to his face. Her shoulders went up and down, in a gesture so like Steve that Danno had to smile a little at the similarity. 

“Although maybe not. I haven’t seen him in a while. Maybe he’s come around, and done some long-overdue, introspective soul-searching,” she decided. “Look, Danno, I don’t mind at all if you’re hanging ten on the same surf board as my big brother. If you can make him happy, more power to you. But could you please not sleep in the living room in your underwear? There’s four bedrooms upstairs. I don’t really need to see my big brother’s boyfriend in his underwear first thing in the morning.” 

“Partner. I’m his partner, not his boyfriend,” Danno stammered. He wondered if there was an extra comb upstairs he could use. Then he wondered, well, considering what they had been doing on that couch last night, was he Steve’s surf buddy? 

“Partner? That sounds serious,” Mary said hopefully. 

“We’re cops. I’m a cop. He’s my partner,” Danno continued to try to explain. 

“You’re wearing his clothes, sleeping on the pull-out sofa in our living room. And you’ve got a hickey on your neck. Somehow, I think this is a bit more serious than work partners,” Mary chided and teased in the same tone. “Why is it the only men in my life are overgrown boys or under-dressed gays?” she lamented as she wandered through the kitchen and peered out the window towards the ocean. Danno assumed the question was rhetorical. He followed her to the window. 

Lonestar and Steve appeared out of the water. They were chasing back and forth along the sandy shore. The SEALIEs were throwing rocks, pieces of wood, the occasional shell at one another. Lonestar was running for all he was worth. He was outpacing Steve by some distance. Steve was pulling up the rear, arms moving, legs pumping, his face a mask of grim determination. 

Lonestar chucked a sizable piece of driftwood right into Steve’s path. McGarrett cursed vehemently, stumbled over the driftwood, but kept on going, catching his footing in a few more steps. They bolted over the chairs, and dived for the screened back porch. They were clawing at each other, pushing and shoving, kicking and biting, while climbing up the stairs on all fours. Steve made it into the house first. He slammed the door in Lonestar’s face, and rolled around on the floor. He planted both big feet hard, and pushed back on the bucking and jarring door and frame. He heaved for breath, spilling over with laughter. He was grinning with excitement as Lonestar butted his entire body against the portal, and the whole wall of the house shook. 

“Are you two quite finished?” Mary scolded, arms crossed over her chest. 

Steve looked up in surprise, wet hair hanging down in his face. His smile faded the second he saw his sister. He stood up and away from the door, granting Lonestar access to the house again. Steve quick-stepped through the kitchen and the living room, and headed for the stairs with sandy feet and dripping body. 

“Stop!” Mary ordered. “You’ll clog the drain if you wash the sand off upstairs. Rinse off outside,” she demanded as she pointed once more to the patio. 

Lonestar obeyed. Steve frowned at his sister, and he continued upstairs. The shower flipped on. 

“Why don’t you ever listen to me?” Mary called out. Lonestar rinsed off on the lanai, and sheepishly came back inside again. Mary tossed him a big towel from the laundry room. 

“Hey, partner. Didn’t realize you were coming this way. I’d’ve cut the exercise short,” Lonestar offered. “You got a lead?” 

“I don’t know if it’s a lead, but I got plans, anyhow,” Mary replied. “Have you met Steve’s surf buddy?” 

“Yeah,” Lonestar remarked with a chuckle. “I sorta dropped in on their wave last night.” 

‘Whatever that means’, Danno frowned to himself. It made Mary snort though. 

“Ben, quit standing around in your goddamn shorts. Go get dressed,” Mary grumbled at Lonestar.

“Yes, ma’am,” he intoned, disappearing upstairs. 

Steve came back downstairs, haphazardly wrapped in two towels, one around his head, and one not even around his waist before he appeared.

“Steve? We need to talk,” Mary called out. Her eyes went to his bruised nipple, and back at Danno for a brief twinkle. 

“The last thing I need this morning is another lecture from my baby sister.” 

“I heard what you pulled with the Navy kids on the John Jacob. Steve, you can’t keep throwing your weight around like that. You are not a SEALIE. You are an ex-SEALIE. You are not a Navy bad-ass. You are a cop. You are one of Hawaii’s finest, and it’s time you start upholding the high standard of the men and women who wore that uniform and carried that badge before you.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“You need to stop acting like you won second prize by having to become a cop.” 

“That’s not how I’m acting.” 

“You can’t keep walking around with a chip on your shoulder, expecting the world to bow to your every pout or snarl.” 

“I do not…” 

“Yeah, you do, Steve,” Lonestar called as he came back down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. 

“Shut up!” the two siblings yelled in unison. 

“Fuck you both then,” Lonestar called back to them, voice full of amusement rather than venom. He was making a pot of coffee. 

Danno pushed his hair out of his face, and wondered if he could escape upstairs for a quick shower. 

“You ready to head to the office?” Steve asked Danno. The detective blinked blearily at him. 

Mary squared off against the big SEALIE, her pixie-fine hair taking on new and more wild dimensions as she ran a hand through it. She was barely half of Steve’s size, but holding her own against him. She poked him in the chest with one finger, and Steve bristled like a puffer fish. 

“Steve, don’t run away from me. We need to talk,” Mary insisted firmly. 

“Mary, you seem to be confused. You’re his partner, and you’re his boss, and you can order him around all you want. But you’re my sister, not my mother,” Steve grumbled with all the dignity of an angry teen as he pointed back and forth between himself and Lonestar. 

“Let me tell you something, Steven. The only reason you were allowed back on Hawaii was because I put in a word for you with Governor Denning. I vouched for you. You owe me, and I need a favor.” 

“I’d like to think the fact that I served twenty exemplary years in the military service might have also helped me get my job.” 

“Denning wasn’t sure you were going to be able to keep up with the demands of the job. Not in your condition. I vouched for you.”

“I’m fine,” Steve insisted.

“I beg to differ. Two months ago, you signed yourself out of a mental hospital against doctor’s recommendations. By all rights, I should have carted you back when you showed up here.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Steve growled. 

“Okay. We are not having this fight again. We’ve both got better things to do with our time.”

Mary fluffed her hair and put her hat back on. She met Danno’s curious blinking gaze. 

“Me and Ben will step outside, and let you pull yourselves together. Grab a cup of coffee, and join us on the lanai,” Mary invited. 

“I’d love some coffee,” Danno agreed, giving Steve a nervous glance. With two long strides and a quick dart, McGarrett snatched a mug out of the cabinet, smacked it on the counter, and jerked the coffee pot out of the machine. If Lonestar hadn’t been there to stick a second mug underneath, there would have been at least half a pot on the floor and the counter. Steve ported the mug over to Danno, put it in his sleepy hand, and then headed up the stairs. 

“Where are you going?” Mary called out. 

“Work. Danno and I have a case. Two cases,” Steve called back. 

“You can take ten minutes, and answer a couple questions.” 

“Busy, busy, busy,” Steve replied. 

“Take two minutes, and brief us on Sang Min. Ben and me will be on our way after that. Out of your hair entirely,” Mary continued. “Speaking of which, Steve, you need a haircut. You look like a hermit!”

“You should have seen him with the beard,” Danno murmured playfully as he sipped the black coffee and lusted for cream and sugar. He could hear Steve stomping around upstairs, back and forth between two rooms. Probably gathering his knitting, and another anonymous duffel bag filled with god-knows-what dangerous armaments. Lonestar tilted his head northward, eyes narrowed as he listened to Steve’s steps too. 

“What’s he doing up there?” Lonestar asked Mary. She took off her hat again, and headed up the stairs two steps at a time. 

“Steve? You seem very edgy. Have you been taking your meds?”

“I’m not edgy! Yes, I’ve been taking my meds,” McGarrett called out from the back door. He was dressed in black cargo pants and a green shirt, carrying a duffel over each shoulder, and wearing another black cape. Did he have a freaking closet full of those things? 

Lonestar recoiled and nearly choked on a swallow of coffee. Steve stood like a flamingo for a moment to strap on his favorite thigh holster, and shoved a laser into the holster. He put both feet on the floor, grabbed his belt buckle, and hitched his loose pants up around his waist. 

Mary returned from upstairs, holding a ball of blue yarn. She tossed it to her brother, and watched him tuck it into one of his pockets. 

“Sang Min?” she repeated. 

“I’m not friends with the guy. The team arrested him a couple times. I know a guy who can get you an introduction. Then you’re on your own. And don’t say I didn’t warn you. Sang Min has no soul. He’d sell his own mother if he thought there was profit in it. He’s a drug-slinging, people-trafficking snakehead with no conscience. Are you listening to me?” Steve warned. 

“You have my undivided attention,” Mary promised. 

“You aren’t going to be able to appeal to his mercy, or his sense of right and wrong. All he will listen to is money.” 

“I thought you said last night the only thing he cared about was boobs,” Lonestar corrected. 

“Money or boobs. Money and boobs,” Steve agreed. 

Mary glanced down at her own figure, which was undeniably flat. 

“Guess we’re going to need some money,” she snorted sarcastically. 

“Partner, don’t be mean to yourself like that. You are beautiful just the way you are,” Lonestar soothed in a gentle tone. He bumped Steve’s shoulder, and motioned towards Mary. “Tell your sister she’s got nice boobs.” 

Steve gave him a worried stare, eyes filled with horror. “Um, no.” 

“That is just so wrong, in so many ways,” Danno agreed. 

“Mary, I love you like family. But you’re going to need lots of money,” Steve said. Mary’s brows bristled, and her eyes flashed like storm clouds. 

“You love me like family?” Mary echoed. “I am family, Steven John McGarrett. The only fucking family you fucking have, so don’t you fucking give me that ‘love you like family’ bullshit. You understand me?” 

Steve sighed dramatically again, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“You know what I mean,” he muttered helplessly. 

“Where I can get large amounts of small bills and well-circulated coinage?” Mary demanded. 

“I can set you up. But then, you gotta leave me alone. We got two cases to work. You leave me alone. I leave you alone. We all leave each other alone. Understood?” 

“God, Steve. It’s like you never matured past high school. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone I know you. Okay?” Mary replied, her voice tight with irritation. 

Danno was drinking his coffee quietly, pondering the whole situation in his sleepy brain. This is what his own family sounded like, he knew, and that was reassuring. This is what happens when you come from a family that is not comfortable expressing love and tenderness to one another. Strong feelings only came out expressed as anger, annoyance, and impatience. Because it hurts too much to show someone affection, and have to face the harsh reality that they are mortal and vulnerable, and could die at any second. Even more so, given these two siblings and their mutually-dangerous occupations. Or with Danno's own family, his father being a firefighter, how any day Mr. Williams went to work might have been the last time Danno laid eyes on him. Or with Danno being a detective, and how his job was not danger-free, however boring the first couple of months here had been. So Danno understood, and held in his amusement and his sympathy both. Steve pushed Danno’s clothes into his hands, took away the coffee mug, and started walking his partner to the front door. 

“Don’t forget to turn off the lights and set the alarm.”

“Where are you going? What’s he talking about? Steven? Don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you!” Mary howled. “We need more intel on Sang Min.” 

“That’s all you really need to know about him. There’s not much else to say.” 

“Does he have family? Does he have friends? Associates?”

“Wife. Son. Divorced. That’s it. I’ll meet you in the city in twenty minutes. I need time to coordinate with my contact, and time to get you some money.” 

“How am I going to find you?” Mary wondered. 

“Ping me. I’m wearing a locator.”

With that, Steve hustled the sleepy Danno out the door, towards the two hovercrafts in the driveway. Danno assumed they would be climbing into the gigantic blue police vehicle. Instead, Steve dropped the two duffels into the beat-up hovercraft sitting at an odd angle. Danno stared at the vehicle, back at Steve, and down at his own bare feet. Williams opened his mouth to speak, watching Steve vault up over the side of the craft and nestle into the driver’s seat. 

“Get in,” McGarrett barked sharply. 

“I…” 

Steve reached one long arm sideways, opened the passenger door, and stared impatiently at Danno. 

“Get. In.”


	18. Thunderclouds

Twenty minutes later, the 5-O team was assembled on a street corner. Like clockwork every morning, on the distant horizon, thunderclouds were gathering. Darker than usual. This morning's rain was going to be a doozy! 

Danno was fully-dressed. He was manfully bearing up the indignity of having to wear a pair of slippahs which had been in the storage compartment of the dilapidated hovercraft. Not only were the slippahs too big, they were adorned with plastic flowers at the junction between the big toe and the second toe. He had hurried into his clothes in a public restroom while Steve had slipped into the alley behind Mama Poloi’s pizza place. Danno had returned fully dressed, and Steve had returned with a third gigantic duffel bag. 

“Jersey! Glad to see you’re finally getting into the Aloha spirit!” Kono had grinned at Danno’s slippahs first thing when she and Chin had slowed down and parked. 

Steve and Danno were leaning against the brick wall, duffels on their backs. Steve had gotten Danno a cup of coffee and a bag of malasadas from a corner vendor. Because his mouth was full of sugar and cinnamon goodness, Danno resorted to a crude hand gesture to Kono’s remark. Then he went back to eating. 

“Can you get Mary and Ben a look-see from Sang Min?” Steve asked Chin as an aside while Kono stuck a hand in Danno’s brown bag, rooted around, and snatched out a couple malasadas for herself. 

“Sure, Boss. I can do that,” Chin agreed amiably. “You look mad. Was Mary giving you shit again?” 

“I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“Okay,” Chin backed up. 

“It’s like she thinks she’s my mother,” Steve continued, arms rising and falling.

“Okay,” Chin nodded. 

“Every damn time she sees me, she yells at me,” Steve babbled. 

“Okay,” Chin said again. 

“You know, some people show affection by yelling at you. Talking crap. Poking you in your sore spots. Stuff like that. It means they love you,” Danny offered quietly. Steve would not stop frowning. Danno offered the bag. Chin dug out a malasada. Steve frowned at the sugary confections, and refused to even look at them. Crossed his arms over his chest and stared away in the other direction towards Kono.

“Kono, how did it go with Joe?” Steve wondered. 

“He said to tell you, on the outside chance he ever wanted you dead, he wouldn’t need to blow up Iolani Palace to get to you. But thanks for suspecting him. It makes him feel warm and tingly all over,” Kono replied. 

“Good.” 

“He also said he’s glad you shaved off the beard.”

“Yeah, whatever.” 

“He said you look grumpy, and that if you need someone to talk to, he’s always there for you,” Kono added. Steve’s brows went up in unison, then bunched up together in the middle of his forehead.

“What did you say to him?” 

“Nothing,” Kono lied, furtively stuffing a large bite into her face so she didn’t have to answer any other question. 

“Any news from Lieutenant Kekoa?” Chin asked. Steve pulled out his percom, rubbed a thumb up and down the screen. He gave Danno a sideways glance of concern. Danno grinned brightly for a second before taking a loud slurp of coffee. 

“I downloaded a couple books for you,” Danno offered. Steve blinked at him, then stowed his emotions tightly under wraps again. Steve pretended nonchalance at whatever had appeared on the screen, and answered Chin’s question. 

“She says that Admiral Cleaver alibied out. He was on the Enterprise during the time of the attack, and can account for his whereabouts on and off duty for the last few months. Let us know if she can be of further assistance. ‘Take care and be well’,” Steve reported. 

“Maybe you aren’t the focal point of this attack,” Chin said judiciously. 

“Yeah, no fucking shit, like I’ve been telling you all along,” Steve snorted. “If someone wanted me dead, they didn’t have to blow up the palace to get to me, or kill Governor Denning, or wound Counselor Edwards, or piss off Princess Rachel and her family.”

“We needed to follow up on the possibilities, Boss. Nothing personal,” Chin soothed calmly. 

“I need to get my percom,” Danno reminded Steve. “Gracie might have called me. I want to say good morning to her.”

“Yup,” the SEALIE nodded. His head popped up at the sound of an approaching hovercraft. He was suddenly even more pissed. 

“That puts us back at square one,” Chin sighed. “We’ve cleared the three people who could have had a reason to get revenge on you. We’ve cleared Counselor Edwards and his wife. We’ve cleared Governor Denning, rest in peace. Where do we go from here, Kahuna? Why are you frowning like that?” 

“I can’t believe she’s driving the Beast. She can’t even reach the fucking pedals,” Steve growled. His eyes went back to Chin. 

“The case, Boss? Where do we go from here?” Chin repeated softly. “Is that Mary in your police vehicle?” 

“Yes,” Steve ground out the word between clenched molars. “The case. The case. We go back to the beginning. Who was in the palace when the shit hit the fan? Who wasn’t in the palace? Kono, Danno, and I will head over there now. Walk through the scene again. You get Mary and Ben in touch with Sang Min, then meet us back at Iolani Palace.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Here, give this to Mary. And tell her if she puts a scratch on the Beast, I’m gonna be pissed.” 

Steve shoved a third duffel at Chin, grabbed Danno’s arm, and hustled away, disappearing into a dark alley. They were headed back to Rusty’s for Danno’s percom. Chin and Kono both stood there, munching the last few bites of malasadas, and watching Mary climb out of the gigantic blue police hovercraft. 

“Should I follow them? Or should I just find my own way?” Kono wondered quietly. 

“Think you’re on your own, cuz,” Chin replied. Kono shrugged. It didn’t bother her either way. 

Chin handed Mary the duffel bag when she joined them. 

“Why did Steve leave?” 

“Places to go, people to torment,” Chin tried to laugh off the uncomfortable nature of the situation. 

“What’s in the bag?” she asked. 

“Bricks?” Chin guessed. “You know, driving up in the biggest, baddest police hovercraft in Oahu, clearly marked with HPD lights and sirens, while wearing your Texas Rangers uniform? That’s really not the best way to maintain your undercover persona.” 

“I’m not undercover,” Mary muttered. 

“Where’s your partner?” Kono asked. 

“He bailed on me a couple miles back. Said he’d meet up with us later.”

“Okay,” Chin agreed. 

“Ma’am, has your brother always been a massive dickhead?” Kono wondered. Mary propped up the duffel bag, and carefully opened the zipper. Coins of every denomination from all the surrounding star systems began to tumble out. She put it down on the sidewalk, and collected the fallen money.

“Not always,” Mary promised sincerely. “Life kinda amplified his stubborn and prickly nature. Where do you suppose Steve got all this money?”

“Best not to ask,” Chin suggested grimly. Kono nodded along. 

“Which one of you gets to be my super-secret underworld contact?” she asked, eyeing them both. Kono pointed at Chin, waved at them both, and then headed away into the streets, following the road uphill towards the sounds of construction swarming around the palace in the distance.

* * *

“I’m sorry about last night,” Steve murmured shyly.

Danno lifted his eyes from his percom, newly retrieved from the Rusty Scupper bar. He was disappointed that there were no messages from Grace. There were sixteen messages from Rachel though. 

“Which part?” Danno wondered, putting off reading Rachel’s messages until later, not only because it would piss his ex-wife off to no end, but because Steve was giving him puppy-eyes, and this conversation might be kind of important. He hoped. 

Steve toed the ground and cleared his throat. Danno fought with a smile. 

“Sorry about Lonestar barging in. Sorry about this morning with my sister too. Sorry that you had to see that. Sorry that I can’t seem to… you know… I’m not good with… people… and things… mostly people.” 

Danno pushed his empty coffee cup into the recycling bin on the corner. They paused to let a couple of hovercrafts to go by, and then made their way towards the junkheap that Steve had piloted into the city. 

“Family, man. Family,” Danno sighed, carefully opening the craft door and delicately climbing inside. The seat squeaked. The door creaked. The floorboard gave way in an unnerving fashion as he wriggled around to put his safety harness on. He buckled himself in tight, and faced McGarrett. 

“I love my sister. But she drives me fucking nuts.”

“Babe, I got two sisters and a brother. I understand.” 

“Yep,” Steve nodded.

“Yep,” Danno agreed. “And my parents? Mother of God,” he added. Danno paused, and gulped, and wished he had more coffee to cover the awkward moment. “Your father. I’m sorry about what happened with your father.” 

“Yep,” Steve answered, his voice a touch quieter than before. 

“And your mother.” 

“Yep,” Steve whispered. 

“I can only imagine how that must feel,” Danno lamented. He hoped that the prompt might get Steve to talk about what had happened to his mother, but there was no hope of that. 

Steve stopped in the flow of traffic, eyes ahead, shoulders slouching for a moment before he tightened his grip on the steering handles. 

“Could we not… right now… I mean…”

“Sure,” Danno interjected quickly. “But I just wanna say…” 

“What?” Steve demanded impatiently. 

“Mary is right about one thing. She is your only blood family. As much as you talk about ohana, you should try to get along with Mary better. Make the effort.” 

Steve clenched the steering column tighter, and the hovercraft came to a screeching halt. Crafts behind them in the flow of traffic had to steer left and right and go overhead, barely clearing the tops of their heads. Danno jolted forward and backward, and stared sideways at Steve. Steve was staring back, face grim, mouth pulled tight. 

“No,” McGarrett said simply. 

“No what?!” Danno exclaimed. 

“No. You’ve known me for a week. Less than a week. You don’t get to lecture me about my relationship with my sister.” 

“I’ve known you for months!” Danno exclaimed louder. 

“No,” McGarrett repeated. Williams made a face at him, and turned all the way around in his seat. More hovercrafts rose over them to get through the street. 

“All right, Steve. How long do I have to know you before I can lecture you about treating your only living relative like shit?” 

“Years. Decades. A fucking century,” Steve growled angrily. “You don’t know… you don’t know… okay? So just… no. No. No.” 

“What? You don’t think I know what sibling rivalry feels like?” 

“My dad sent my sister to live with my aunt. He gave her a family. Someone to love her. Someone to look after her. He sent me off to a military academy on a distant planet, with a bunch of fucking strangers, in the care of a guy I met at the starport, as I was leaving Hawaii. I knew this guy for like five minutes before my dad was pushing me on a transport ship with him. Thank Granny that Joe White is the man he is, you know? Because for all my dad cared, he could have been handing me over to some lowlife slaver who could have sold me into bondage, and that would have been the end of me. Do you know my dad didn’t contact me for months after that? Months! I lost my mom, and my sister, and my dad. Got shipped away from the only home I had ever known. Got sent off to spend the next twenty years with a bunch of complete strangers. All in the space of about forty-eight hours. Don’t you dare lecture me about what family means, and how I should treat my sister. Okay? Are we clear? Are we goddamn clear?” 

“I’m sorry, Steve. I’m truly sorry.” 

“He gave my cat away.” 

“What?” 

“My dad. He gave away my cat,” Steve rambled, fingers clenched white over the handles of the craft. 

“I…” Danno wasn’t sure what to say. He put a hand gingerly on Steve’s forearm. The SEALIE jolted at the touch and pulled his limb out of reach. 

The hovercraft jerked up into the flow of traffic again. Steve stared straight ahead, face blank, mouth clenched, eyes tight. He was emanating an aura of such unhappiness that Danno found himself swallowing a lump in his own throat. Sometimes the quietest screams of pain were the hardest to bear. The secret was knowing how to read someone’s pain, and how to respect their space to mourn. 

Danno pulled out his percom, scooted to the far side of the hovercraft, and leaned against the squeaking creaking door. He thumbed at the message list, saw that he had another two messages from Rachel. He put the percom away again. He stared towards the right, anywhere but at Steve.


	19. Echoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's amazing how blind two people can be.

“Let’s walk through it again,” McGarrett requested, raising his voice to be heard over the hum and whine of the stone masons cutting bricks with lasers at the far end of the vast room. 

The chaos of the attack had been cleared away. Repairs were underway all over the building, all over the waterfront, all over the city really. The team minus Chin was gathered in the far, right corner, facing in from the main entry doors. Governor Denning had died not ten feet away from where they were standing. Danno could see it all again if he closed his eyes—the way the head table lay on its side, linen tablecloth askew, spattered with food and blood, soot and debris. The screams were the worst, the last thing to ever fade from memory. There was nothing more disturbing to Danno than the sound of Gracie screaming. That sound made every protective instinct flare into action inside Danno. He would have fought them all off single-handed to protect his beloved child. 

“The first sign of trouble was when the wait staff was bringing in the flaming dessert,” Kono reiterated. 

McGarrett was pacing back and forth, tension in every inch of his frame. He poked at the tablet he was carrying, hurrying across the vast room to stand right outside the space where the doors should have been hanging. He lifted the tablet and moved it over the door hinges. As the tablet moved, the footage of the damage replayed on the screen. It was like seeing a distant echo, or a door into time. 

“Everyone assumed the smoke was part of the presentation,” Kono continued, following behind Steve. 

On the tablet display, ghostly figures showed the party in progress. Where the action moved from one camera’s perspective to the next, there were tiny pixelated blurs. The guards who were at the double doors reacted first with merriment as the waiters were pushing the trays with dessert into view. There was a quick shift from amusement to confusion when three of the waiters dropped the guards with deadly sprays to the face. 

“What was that?” Steve demanded. 

“The attackers had small devices concealed in the serving trays, filled with temporary paralyzing agents which rendered the guards helpless,” Kono explained. 

“Where were the waiters? The real waiters?” Danno asked. 

“How do you mean?” Kono asked in reply. 

“You mean, did someone disable the actual waiters, and take their places?” Steve interjected at Danno. 

“Yeah, something like that. I’m sure that anyone hired to serve at a function for the governor and such esteemed guests would have had to have gone through a rigorous security check,” Danno squared off. 

“I’d assume so too,” Steve agreed. They both looked to Kono for answers. She shook her head at them. 

“Guys, I can only tell you what I know. I’m an investigator, not an oracle.”

As soon as the guards were immobilized, the attackers picked up the cylindrical canisters everyone had assumed were filled with dessert topping. They used the propellant-filled devices to spray a foamy white substance on the door hinges top and bottom. As soon as the foam hit the metal, the metal began hissing and drooling, dropping away onto the ground as molten metal. 

Steve wasn’t surprised. Kono was fascinated. Danno couldn’t help but believe the ‘waiters’ were wearing full-length sleeves and heavy gloves because that substance was undoubtedly lethal to human skin. He shuddered at the very idea of how that could have gone so horribly wrong. The guards were lucky to have been rendered immobile, and not burned to a crisp with a metal-eating acid. 

“I’ve seen that before. The Nagasaki Universal Bank’s branch on New York. It was hit twice within a month. Always suspected those heists were military in nature,” Steve commented as his eyes scanned the reports being displayed over the footage on the tablet. 

“What makes you say that’s military?” Danno wondered. 

“If I’m reading the chemical analysis reports correctly, the acid compound the attackers used, it’s a bastardized version of Aqua Regia. Not something you can buy at the local pharmacy. You need to purchase the ingredients separately, and you need someone to cook it up for you. Some of those ingredients are banned in the surrounding star systems,” Steve answered. 

"With good reason," Kono barked. 

Danno blurted hopefully, “That should make tracking down the responsible party all that much easier.” 

“In theory,” Steve agreed, raising his eyes timidly before going back down behind his walls. 

“Once the hinges had been removed, the attackers set the explosives along the doors themselves,” Kono said as she motioned to the tablet again. “This footage is cobbled together from these cameras here, here, and there,” she said as she pointed into the small foyer in front of the main ballroom. 

“Has Meka been released from the hospital yet?” Steve asked. Kono shook her head no. 

“He remains in critical condition. The other guards at the downstairs main entrance were not so lucky.” 

“No footage survived from the main entrance?” Steve asked.

“Like that would be any good to us?” Danno barked sarcastically, running both hands over the top of his own head. “Anyone my height or shorter, all you were gonna see was their coif.”

Steve smirked a little, and nodded. He fingered the tablet, and moved back to the footage of the attackers foaming up the door hinges. 

“These guys are all around your size. None of them is taller than 65 or 66 inches,” McGarrett observed. His eyes wandered over Danno, who went up on the toes for a second or two. Steve’s amusement increased by a degree or two before fading back to his habitual grimness.

“The intruders disabled the main gate and destroyed the footage. Injured or killed all the guards on duty,” Kono lamented. “Meka is lucky to be alive.” 

“Meka is our only eye-witness then. I’ll stop by and see how he is feeling, if he remembers anything,” Steve decided. 

“We will stop by,” Danno amended. Steve’s head popped up. He stared at Danno. He nodded in agreement. Then he went back to business, missing the tiny smile on Kono’s face, and the thumbs-up that she flashed to Danno. 

McGarrett moved the tablet in the air over the center of the room. He was continuing to view the composite footage. Danno and Grace crossed his field of vision, dead center of the dance floor, as the doors exploded into shards and shrapnel. The ghostly figure of Danno was startled, then furious. He went down over Grace in a millisecond. Chin was less than fifteen feet off to the right of the doors. He was diving for cover, dragging two people next to him down to shelter as well. Steve went pale. He suspended the footage with a flick of his hand. Tucked the tablet against his chest, as if to protect Danno and Grace, and Chin alike. 

Live and in person, Danno was strutting around, rolling back and forth through his notes on his percom. Steve watched him, hiding down behind his emotional walls. He was undeniably impressed with this tiny, abrasive whirlwind. Danno had swept into his life and thrown everything into turmoil, pushing back every time Steve pushed at him. Yet Danno had also had a calming effect on all the chaos in Steve’s head. He had dragged Steve out of hiding. Although it hurt to let himself be this vulnerable and open, it hurt Steve more to think of how close Danno and Grace had come to death. 

Danno was acting like he hadn’t given his own demise a second thought now that the danger was over. That’s who Danno was though – putting himself on the line to save others. He was a cop through and through. That was not an occupation – that was a vocation. Although there were a few assholes who became cops because they wanted to wear shiny black jackboots and lord power over the weak, most of the people Steve had met who were cops genuinely wanted to protect and to serve. Men like his father.

Oh, good grief! Was Steve drawn to Danno because he reminded him of his father? McGarrett shuddered, and pushed the thought away. Locked the very idea of it in a heavy box so he wouldn’t have to deal with it. Nope, nope, nope. 

Detective Williams would have been a perfect SEALIE candidate, if only he were a foot taller and a few pounds lighter. McGarrett wondered if the diminutive detective was an emotional eater. He wasn’t tubby, but he was solid. Danno was sculpted, from his broad shoulders and barrel chest, down to his sharp hips. And that ass? Steve shivered and licked his lips at the memory of running his hands over Danno’s compact body last night. Furry and soft, with rippling muscles underneath. Pity Lonestar had shown up at the most inopportune time. Steve had been looking forward to wrapping his legs around those powerful hips, and letting that little dynamo do anything and everything he wanted. 

_Make me feel again. Make me feel something, anything._

“Traces of XB-87 were found all over the debris,” Danno commented, dispelling Steve’s private thoughts. 

McGarrett nodded, “Yeah,” and avoided Danno’s piercing China blue gaze. Williams seemed to be wondering what the hell was going on inside Steve's head. 

Since being scolded in the hovercraft, Danno had been terse with Steve. Not that he was trying to be terse. He cringed every time he heard himself speak. He wanted so much to reach out to Steve, to let the taciturn man know that if he needed a shoulder to cry on, if he ever cried, that Danno was there for him. Danno was of the opinion that Steve could use a good cry. A punch in the mouth too. That was beside the point. 

Judging from the cold aura around Steve, there was no way in the world that Danno was going to get the offer of comfort through to him. Not right now, it would seem. Every time their eyes would meet, Steve would jump away, lower his gaze, hide behind that freaking tablet he was hugging to his chest, like it would save him from Danno getting too close, too fast. 

_You’re a freaking mess, aren’t you, babe?_

Danno maintained a professional distance. Not entirely true. He struggled to maintain a professional distance. Aw hell. He wasn’t having any luck at all even maintaining the façade of a professional distance! He wanted, he needed, he was desperate to communicate that he understood how Steve felt. That he wanted to help. That he needed to help. Maybe by helping Steve, he could help himself. 

Where words might have failed, there were always touches. A hand here. A bump of the shoulder there. Danno’s family – they would yell and scream and throw things at one another, but five minutes later, there would be hugs and gentle ribbing, and everything was forgiven until the next explosion of emotion. Danno was extending that offer to Steve now, as gently as possible, considering how quickly the SEALIE had yanked his arm away with the first touch. But gently, tenderly, Danno offered reassuring touches whenever Steve was in reach. Steve would stay in reach for a few seconds, then dart away if he thought Danno was about to touch him. It was like coaxing a nervous bunny to take a carrot. 

_Oh hell. Don’t think about bunnies._

Danno smiled to himself as he studied the SEALIE. He could help but picture Steve with floppy ears and a scowl on his face, top front teeth poking over his bottom lip as he frowned grumpily. Steve whirled around in place with the tablet, studying footage of the attack, and Danno took a moment to imagine a cotton-ball tail attached to his partner’s backside. 

Danno chortled, knew Steve would be insulted, and swallowed the smirk down again. At least his chortle had sounded annoyed. He hoped Kono and Steve assumed he was letting off steam over the attack. 

“Yeah,” Steve repeated. He watched his partner carefully as the detective roamed around the foyer, back into the ballroom, and back out again, crossing the threshold in a flurry of footsteps. Danno had caught the strange look. It hadn’t been as cold and unfeeling as he had first thought. What the hell? 

“They dissolved the hinges, rigged the doors with explosives, and ka-boom,” Danno said, brushing past Steve, rubbing his elbow, vanishing again. 

“Yeah,” Steve gulped, shivering as Danno went past with a brush to his elbow. Williams swept around, gesticulating with his arms as he spoke. 

“Fucking fuckers,” Danno growled. 

“You’re lucky to be alive, Jersey,” Kono whispered as she followed behind him. Steve stood gaping, eyes serious and face somber. 

“Very lucky,” Steve agreed with Kono. 

“I want these bastards,” Danno muttered. “Like you have no idea.” 

“We all do,” Kono agreed. 

“They shamed us! They come into our house, into our HOUSE, and they do this to us? No. They are not getting away this,” Danno insisted. 

“Yup,” said Steve. He was the master of brief and concise language. Danno bumped full force into his chest as McGarrett pivoted without warning. “Ah!” Steve yelped, unconsciously reaching for his bruise. 

“Sorry, babe,” Danno clipped off the words quickly, nonchalantly, nothing to see here. He patted both of Steve’s beefy arms, and stepped around him. 

Steve quivered at the touch, and turned and followed him as if drawn by an invisible leash. Danno was headed for the other end of the room. Steve scanned with the tablet along the wall where the stone masons were busily cutting bricks to repair the gaping wound in the wall. Danno stood beside Steve, and pulled the instrument down far enough that he could view the footage as well. 

“You. You’re a behemoth. Gimme that,” Danno murmured, maneuvering in front of Steve, getting between his two extended arms so they could watch the footage at the same time. The gray-green SEALIE figure in the video leapt out of the gaping wall and onto the deadly craft which had been hovering there. Cape waving around behind him. It was awesome to watch. Terrifying, but awesome. 

“I’m pretty small for a SEALIE,” Steve murmured. Danno cocked a brow at him. Truthfully, the detective wasn’t sure what to make of that revelation, except maybe Steve wanted to make him feel better about his own lack of height. 

“Where can I get me one of those cloaks? They’re magnetic. They can substitute for a communications array. They deflect laser beams. What are they made of? Unicorn tears?” Danno asked. He reached back and grabbed for part of the cloak, pretending to examine the material very closely. It was solid, made of a light-weight metal. It warmed instantly to the touch. Microscopic examination would have shown a weave like chainmail – interlocked circles – though on a scale so small that a human could not have woven the cloak by hand. 

Steve watched Danno examining the material of his cloak, his face perplexed and disconcerted. 

“What is it made of, then?”

“Classified,” Steve answered. 

"You don't know?" Danno pestered him. 

"I'm a SEALIE, not a metallurgist. By the way, I heard back from my buddies on Alaska 9,” Steve said, shifting his focus to Kono as Danno prodded Steve's ribs and peered up under the back of the cloak. There were pockets up under there. Danno rooted around for a moment before Steve managed to shoo him out from under the material. The rookie was watching the two of them with a half-smile. Again, like she was privy to the best-kept secret in the universe. 

“And?” Kono pressed. 

“They have put a stop to the Princess being able to hunt fur there. Pulled her license. Kono, why are you frowning? I thought you would be pleased.” 

“That’s it? They pulled her license? Uh huh. That’ll stop her. Because no one has ever hunted without a license before, have they?” 

Steve took in Kono’s frown, and her sour disposition. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. 

“I feel just as strongly about this as you do,” he insisted. 

“She is killing baby seals to wear their skins as decoration. She's using them for ornamentation. That woman walked into this room, wearing the top layer of skin and protective fur of another living being. I don’t care what the traditions and mores on her home world are. Fur is murder.”

“I agree.” 

“I want her stopped.” 

“So do I.” 

“Otherwise, I might have to request some vacation time.”

“Now, there’s no need to go that far,” Steve gulped. 

Danno stared back and forth between the two of them, as Kono glared hard at Steve. He vaguely remembered that in his two months there, Kono had been out once for a couple days. During those forty-eight hours, Chin had been so nervous and out of focus that he nearly decapitated himself with a rocket launcher. Chin’s percom never left his hand. During those couple of days, the lone stranger had been in the courtyard, but he had been pacing back and forth, back and forth, whispering to himself like he was answering the voices in his head. 

Now in hind-sight, Danno understood that Steve had probably had a percom and an earpiece in place, and was negotiating with Kono to get her butt back to Hawaii. Or he had been communicating with other people to expedite getting Kono back. But then, oh then, Danno had thought it was further reason to keep his distant from the shaggy crazy man who was talking to unseen people. 

“Maybe I’d like to pull my parka out of cold storage, and go see Alaska 9 for myself,” Kono threatened. 

“Kono…” Steve pleaded. 

“You remember what happened the last time I took vacation, don’t you?” she warned, coming closer and closer. 

“I remember very well,” Steve paled. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re still wanted in several star systems.” 

“You damned right I am,” Kono purred, getting nose to nose with him. 

“Burning down the science labs on Recchi Prime? Stealing all the animals. Good thing you were wearing a mask and a hood,” McGarrett whispered as he tried to smile. Kono continued to frown. Steve’s smile turned serious, then faded away.

“Don’t make me get my parka, Kahuna.” 

“Kono, hang tight, and give me more time. I’ll talk to my guys again. See if they can revoke her right to come planet-side at all,” Steve offered. “Will that do?” 

“It’s a start,” Kono agreed, backing out of Steve’s personal space once more. He gulped loudly again, and gave Danno a frightened look. Then Danno took in the stare that Kono was directing at him. 

“Don’t worry. We can trust Danno to keep his mouth shut. Can’t we, Danno?” 

Danno knew that the correct answer to such a question was yes. Emphatically. Entirely. Unequivocally. 

“Your secrets are my secrets,” Danno assured them. 

“They better be,” Kono warned. Steve fiddled with the footage of the attack. Danno stared at the tablet as the image of a shrieking Kono raced past camera view. Her eyes had an unholy glow to them. 

“Oh,” Danno breathed softly. 

“Your turn,” Kono insisted. 

“My turn?” Danno gulped. 

Kono entered his personal space, and stared him down. 

“A secret for a secret.” 

“That seems fair,” Steve agreed. 

“Like you want to know my favorite color? My personal turn-ons?” Danno joked. 

“Spaghetti with meatballs with red sauce,” Steve blurted with a playful smile. 

“Really? That’s just weird,” Kono chided. 

“He’s pretty emphatic about his toast too,” Steve added. 

Kono continued to move into Danno’s space. “You ever done anything illegal, Jersey?” 

“Define illegal,” Danno squinted. Steve snickered. 

“Against the law,” Kono continued. 

“Not Danno,” Steve said, shaking his head. “He is the law. He doesn’t break the law.” 

He was conveniently forgetting about Danno’s confession concerning boosting hovercrafts on the Jersey Turnpike, it would seem. 

“I’ll have you know…” Danno grumbled, flustered and happy at the same time. 

“Making any progress?” Chin asked from the foyer as he crossed into the ballroom. 

“Where the hell have you been?” Danno fled from where Kono and Steve were whispering to one another. 

Chin arched one brow in sarcasm. Danno clasped his arm for a second. And took a good look at him. 

“Who punched you in the face?” Danno asked.


	20. Down in the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback - Chin helps Mary connect with Sang Min

“Let’s get this done and over with, 5-0,” the small and wiry man said as he ducked in and out of the alley, head moving side to side as he sniffed the air for signs of danger. 

Mary’s skepticism was written all over her face. She nudged the brim of her hat northward, and cast a punitive stare at Sang Min. 

“Him?” Mary asked Chin. Sang Min flared up with offense at that one word. The detective hung his head. 

Chin whispered under his breath, “Kill me now.” 

Sang Min ducked back into the alley, hands waving, body darting back and forth. 

“Who the hell are you, lady? Shit, is that a badge?” 

Mary stared down at her front pocket. 

“Lord, have mercy! I do believe it is!” 

Sang Man shook his head, and swung at Chin. Caught off guard, Chin didn’t have time to duck. He did react though, grabbing Sang Man around the waist and hauling him further back into the darkness of the alley. Mary followed, smirking, dragging the giant duffel bag which Steve had carried with ease.

“How could you do this to me, Chin Ho Kelly? I thought we was friends.” 

“Calm down. Calm down,” Chin urged as Sang Min rubbed his ribs, winced, and backed up against the wall. 

“Calm down?! It’s bad enough I might be seen around with the likes of you in broad daylight, but she’s a Ranger. A Ranger!” 

“Unclench your ass, hupo. I’m from Hawaii. I’m Kamaaina. We’re practically related," Mary grumbled. 

“The hell you say!” Sang Min retorted. 

Mary hefted the duffel bag up, and hurled it at the man’s feet. 

“I’m looking for a man,” Mary drawled. 

Sang Min’s brows bunched together in the middle of his forehead. 

“I can see where that might be an issue for you, Lady Ranger. But hooking is not my game. Can’t help you there.” 

“She’s not looking to get laid,” Chin growled impatiently, holding his bashed eye. 

“Not while I’m on duty, anyhow,” Mary laughed, unzipping the bag. Sang Min went down on his knees beside Mary as she fished around in the duffel and withdrew a tablet from inside the money. 

“Did you rob a street vendor to pick up that coinage?” Sang Min chuckled. 

“Have we got your attention yet?” Chin wondered. 

“I’m listening,” Sang Min said, jumping back up to his feet and tearing his eyes away from the opened duffel. 

Mary pulled up a mugshot. 

“You seen this guy around?” she asked Sang Min. The snakehead gave the shot a glance, and snorted, rolling his eyes as his head darted back and forth again. 

“Is he more your type? Tall, blond, and haole?” 

"Be serious," Chin scolded, poking Sang Min in the back of the head. 

“This man is a dangerous fugitive, wanted in six star systems," Mary revealed. 

“Is that all?” Sang Min sniffed. He pranced back and forth, raised a brow, and straightened his collar before leaning in conspiratorially. “You know? I was a wanted man in twelve systems.” 

Chin grimaced, "If only for your questionable fashion sense." 

"Hey, 5-O. Don't make me pop you in the other eye," Sang Min growled defensively. Chin unfurled a dangerous, slow smile. 

Mary pulled up a different set of pictures on the tablet. Sang Min and Chin both winced and dodged back. 

“Him. He’s the one who did this. He’s the one who…” 

“Is that an actual head?” Sang Min interjected, squinting at the tablet, and looking away again. 

“He’s volatile. He’s unstable. He’s got no qualms about killing innocent people who stand in his way,” Mary warned, pulling up a different set of pictures. Sang Min covered his mouth with one hand, and yanked his hand back from the tablet. Chin stared hard at Mary. The younger McGarrett tilted her head a bit. 

“Put that away. I got a kid, you know? That’s disgusting,” Sang Min murmured low and deep, voice full of pain. 

“Boys. Girls. He doesn’t care. They’ve got a word him. They call him ‘Aikane’.”

“Cannibal?” Sang Min breathed in horror. "He eats them?" 

"Not all at once," Chin whispered conspiratorially. Mary fought with a smile. 

“You understand why I want this guy so badly? Twenty-eight children to date, that we know of, in six different start systems. I got a kid too.” 

“Boy or girl?” Sang Min asked. 

“She’s a girl. About five now. She lives on La Ciudad with my auntie. She’s… here,” Mary said, digging around on the tablet. She pulled up a picture of a small blonde girl with very serious eyes and a timid smile, clinging to the leg of a woman with bright red hair and the world’s warmest grin. 

“She looks just like you,” Sang Min offered. Mary’s face went sad and bittersweet. 

"You think so?" Mary whispered. 

"Yeah. She's got your nose. And your chin." 

"She’s my world. What about you?” 

“A boy. About five too. He lives with his mother here in Oahu.”

Mary tucked away the picture and waited as Sang Min pulled out his percom, and proudly showed off a small boy with dark hair and coffee skin, dressed up in his best robes, holding the hand of an elegant woman with a kind smile. 

“My little man. First day of school,” Sang Min crooned, not without a hint of sadness. 

“You get to see him much?” Mary asked. 

“Not as much as I’d like.” 

“Me either, mine,” Mary whispered wistfully. “I mean, she understands, you know, that Mommy’s not there because she’s chasing down the bad guys, but that doesn’t make it any better. I miss her all the time.” 

“Me too, mine,” Sang Min answered as he tucked away his percom. Mary waited for a few seconds before she continued. 

“I know my guy is on Hawaii. I just don’t know where.”

“Lady, if I see that guy, he’s a dead man,” Sang Min swore, whirling around, showing Mary the laser under his breezy robes. 

“No, brah. No. That’s too easy. That’s too good for this guy. I gotta take him back alive. I gotta make him pay for what he’s done,” Mary drew the words out slowly. “Killing’s too good for a guy like this.” 

“Yeah. Killing’s too good. I could maim him though. Maim him good. Maim him so he can never hurt another little kid?” Sang Min offered hopefully. 

“Um. No. No maiming either. Really. God bless, that’s real thoughtful of you, but let’s avoid maiming him too. If we can? I mean, what if he died before I could take him back to justice?” Mary scrambled to catch up, struggled to hide her concern. Chin was suddenly interested in the far end of the alley. His muted chuckles carried though. 

“Thought I heard something,” he murmured. 

“So what do you want me to do, Lady Ranger?” 

“From what I've heard, you're the one to see if you want to get off this planet without the authorities knowing about it." 

"News travels," Sang Min beamed. 

"This guy, he might come to you. If he does, you ping me. I’m gonna be around. Not where you can see me. But I’ll be around.” 

“Alright. I’ll ping you,” Sang Min agreed. They drew out their percoms in unison and touched them back to back, but them away again. “Where you staying?” 

“I got a place.” 

"You got a name?" 

"McGarrett." 

Sang Min wilted visibly, and cast accusing eyes at Chin. 

"She any relation to the _other_ McGarrett?"

"What are the odds?" Mary purred. 

“That guy? He's crazier than a box full of snapping turtles.” 

“Hey, don’t talk bad about the Kahuna. He's done right by you,” Chin interjected. 

“You mean he used me for bait, and I escaped by the skin of my teeth,” Sang Min replied. 

“But you did escape,” Chin reminded him. 

“You do this favor for me, and I’ll owe you a favor. You see how that works?” Mary offered. 

“Hmm…. I can always use a favor from a fine lady like yourself,” Sang Min purred. 

“Not that kind of favor,” Mary warned coolly. 

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it,” Sang Min laid on the charm, smile unfurling. He pulled his robes together, and opened them again very slowly, very seductively. Mary slowly drew her robes together, and opened them with her sidearm cocked forward and center. 

“Cool your spurs, cowboy. I’m in no mood.” 

“Okay, Lady Ranger. If men aren’t your thing, all you have to do is say so,” Sang Min retorted, closing his light robes again with a bit of a smile. 

“Just keep your eyes out for this guy, and let me know if you see him.”

“Happy to help you out,” Sang Min nodded. “You don’t even gotta pay me for this one. It’ll be my pleasure.” 

Mary kicked the duffel bag. 

“Keep this anyhow. You do this for me, and I promise, you’ll always have a friend.” 

“I could use a friend,” Sang Min purred. 

“Not that kind of friend,” Mary retorted. 

“Chin Ho, she’s as bad as your little cousin,” Sang Min pouted. “Always playing hard to get. What’s a guy gotta do to win over a pretty lady?” 

“Cut off that rat tail, and use a different cologne?” Mary suggested.

“That’d be a start,” Chin agreed. 

“Ouch. You wound me. See you ‘round, 5-0. Lady Ranger,” Sang Min replied, pulling up the big duffel bag and disappearing into the shadows. 

Chin waited until the snakehead was out of earshot, and turned to Mary. 

“You sold that a little hard, didn’t you?” 

Mary agreed, worried. “Hope he doesn’t take a shot at Ben on first sight!” 

“You should warn your partner to be on his toes,” Chin urged. 

“Aw hell no,” Mary decided with a quirky smile. “Ben will appreciate the humor in it.”


	21. Peer Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's ohana knows what buttons to push.

“Sang Min punched you?” Kono demanded. 

“That little shit,” Steve swore through his grin. 

“Getting rusty, cuz,” Kono tormented. 

“How are things here?” Chin asked, deflecting the questions. 

“We didn’t catch anyone yet,” Danno interjected. “And we aren’t going to, standing around like idiots like this,” he added meaningfully. 

“Danno and me are heading over to see Meka at the hospital. Let’s start over again. I want alibis from everyone on the list. I want alibis for everyone who knows anyone who was on the guest list.” 

“Really, Steve?” Chin murmured, brows raising. 

“You got any better ideas?” Steve scowled, arms crossing over his chest. Tattoos of flashing colors and swirls and shapes twisted into the light. Danno slid a hand up onto Steve’s closest bicep, fingertip caressing on edge of the pattern as it danced up under the SEALIE’s sleeve. 

A fleeting memory went through his brain. A flash of pale skin and bright colors between two moving blocks of black material. 

Chin and Kono exchanged a funny look, but that wasn’t what snapped Danno out of his fugue. Steve cleared his throat, and picked Danno’s hand up by one finger, pushing it gently away. Danno snatched at Steve’s hand and held it insistently. 

“What about our own personnel?” Danno asked. 

“We should….” Steve replied.

“Stop chasing our tails,” Chin grumbled. 

Steve sighed, closed his eyes, and nodded reluctantly. 

“You’re right. There’s no point to starting over again.” 

“What particular compounds in the Aqua Regis are illegal and therefore hard to come by?” Danno asked. “We should run that down.” 

“Right after we see how Meka is doing,” Steve agreed. 

“I keep thinking that one of those guys had this tattoo,” Danno whispered, poking Steve’s bicep again. 

Steve narrowed his eyes at him, and lifted the sleeve. 

“Which part?” McGarrett demanded. 

“The flower.”

“It’s a lotus blossom,” Steve frowned. 

“One of those guys had that,” Danno insisted. 

Steve covered the blossom protectively, shaking his head. 

“Okay. That’s not bloody likely, but we can follow up on that too.”

“The attackers? The faces that you said you recognized? They were military, former military?” Chin asked. 

“Yes,” Steve replied. “You and Kono confirmed that the attackers were ex-military, all branches.” 

“We’ll cross the footage from the attack with the military files, and compile a list of missions the men have in common.” 

“The Navy isn’t going to let you have information about classified missions,” Steve cautioned Kono. 

“We’ll ask very nicely.” 

“It’s Admiral Cleaver. If he thinks it’s something that will help my investigation, he’s not going to help,” Steve replied grimly. 

“Kahuna, it’s not your investigation. It’s our investigation. _Our investigation._ If the admiral doesn’t want to play nicely, we’ll ask Governor Jameson to have a talk with him,” Chin said firmly and resolutely. 

“Unless you want to hack into the Naval Intelligence computers, and plant a search bot to do the work for us?” Danno suggested, eyes centered on Chin. 

“Only if the ‘ask nicely’ part doesn’t work,” Chin whispered after a brief pause. 

“How did it go when you spoke to Lieutenant Rollins?” Kono whispered, leaning in again, staring hard at Steve.

“I… um… well, I think, for us?” Steve gulped. 

“She works in Naval Intelligence,” Kono continued. “Maybe she could get the info for us. If you asked her nicely?” 

“Great idea,” Chin agreed with his cousin. Danno narrowed his eyes to half-mast at Steve. He didn’t have to say a word. He just had to stare. Steve managed to keep a straight face in spite of his rising panic. 

“Not a good plan,” Steve insisted. 

“You could use your charm, convince her to help us, couldn’t you, Kahuna?” Kono wheedled. 

“Um…” Steve stalled. Danno snorted.

“You’ll have her eating out of your hand,” Chin tried to bolster Steve’s flagging confidence. 

“It’s going to take more than charm to get into the Naval Intelligence computers.” 

“Yes, Steven. It’s going to take a password, which you’re going to get from Lieutenant Rollins. Right after we go visit Meka,” Danno said.

“She’s not going to roll over for us that easily,” Steve warned. Danno was already tugging him towards the exit. 

“I dunno, babe. I got the impression that for you, she would roll over faster than a surfboard in big waves.” 

“This is so not a good idea,” Steve protested as Danno pushed and pulled him out the exit. Danno whacked him on the backside as they disappeared.


	22. Ocean View

“Who’s the big, bald dude with the huge teeth?” Danno asked, taking the scopes away from Steve, nudging him sideways, taking up the best lookout position on the balcony across. 

“I wish Meka could have been more helpful,” McGarrett moaned. 

“That makes two of us, but ‘drug-induced coma to promote healing’ tells me that our buddy might be out of commission for some time. We’re going to have to take another avenue of investigation.”

“I am not comfortable spying on a fellow soldier like this,” Steve protested. Which was funny coming from a guy who had been holding those scopes to his eyes for the better part of two hours now as he and Danno watched the visitors come and go from the Lieutenant’s ocean-view apartment. 

“Rollins and Big Bald seem to be pretty good friends.” 

“Hmph,” Steve snorted. “It’s an intel exchange.” 

“Sure, it is,” Danno said as he lowered the scopes. 

“She’s half his age.”

“Are you and I watching the same balcony? Unless she’s got the intel tattooed on her body, this is not an intel exchange.”

“You don’t know that,” Steve grumbled defensively. 

“Big Bald has a Navy ID tattoo. Your not-my-girlfriend apparently has a thing for taciturn Naval guys. You know him?” 

“Yes,” Steve bit off the word. 

“We need to talk to Lieutenant Rollins. How long is he going to be there? You sure you know the guy?” 

“Yes,” Steve pouted. 

“What do I have to do to get a name out of you?” Danno snarked. 

Steve grunted, snatched the scopes away from Danno, and tucked them into his cloak. He stormed back into the room they had purchased to be able to spy on Rollins. And don’t think the two of them, showing up at the hotel front desk, asking for a room with an ocean view, hadn’t raised a few eyebrows!

“You wanna talk about it?” Danno ventured.

“No,” Steve pouted. Why was he so angry? He sat down on the edge of bed, and turned away from the balcony. 

“You are mad,” Danno beamed. 

“I am not!” 

“Steve, it’s perfectly normal to be jealous of your ex sleeping with someone else.” 

“They’re not sleeping together.” 

“Okay. You got me there. Definitely not sleeping.”

“I’m sure it’s an intel exchange. They’re making it look authentic, that’s all. They’re not doing it because they want to do it.” 

“Why are you convinced it’s an intel exchange?” 

“She and I have used that scenario before in other locations,” Steve admitted uncomfortably. “The lieutenant does the reconnaissance, then she sets up a post, and relates the intel to the team.” 

“The whole team?” Danno’s eyes bulged. 

“The team leader, anyhow,” Steve bit the words off tersely. Danno grinned again. 

“Why are you so pissed?” Danno asked. Steve clenched both fists, and looked like a roman candle ready to shoot off. “Babe, this is good. Look at you. Having normal, everyday, real human emotions. It’s healthy. Very healthy,” Danno added. 

His head turned fast towards the window, his mouth hanging open. 

“They shouldn’t be doing that on the balcony, should they? There could be kids… nearby… listening…” he gulped and swallowed, trying to tear his eyes away. 

The passionate moans, and the shaking and squeaking of the railing, could not be muted out, not with the patio door open. McGarrett scooted down on the floor, and pulled his knees to his chest. In a last stitch effort, he put his hands over his ears. 

“Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil, have no fun,” Danno mused softly. He booted his way past Steve to close the patio door. 

The big bald guy with huge teeth met Danno’s gaze from across the way. He grinned wolfishly at the detective, and hauled Rollins back inside the room, banging the door shut. The silhouette of a shapely butt could be seen through the thin curtains. Danno slid their own patio door closed. 

“All clear,” Danno insisted as he booted Steve in the side with one foot. Steve bundled up tighter, his chin on his knees. Danno rested a hand on the top of Steve’s head, patting gently. McGarrett turned his head sideways and scowled into the distance. 

Williams let his fingers trace Steve’s skull, running the contours between his long locks. He could feel a prominent scar, the insertion arc where the protective metal plate had been placed under Steve’s scalp and skin. Danno fought against the sudden urge to soothe, to bend down and kiss the top of Steve’s head. 

McGarrett’s percom bleated. He extended his legs, and pulled the device out of one of many pockets. Danno could see the cracked screen as well as Steve could. Big Bald’s face appeared. ‘Sir! Yes, Sir!’ – the ID announced. McGarrett shut off the percom, and hurled it viciously at the far wall with his right hand. 

The percom landed on the floor, and began to groan with pleasure. McGarrett’s face filled with alarm. 

“By the way,” Danno chortled. “The books I downloaded came with audio tracks.”

Steve got up on all fours and crawled awkwardly across the floor. He retrieved the percom, and fumbled with the buttons. The moaning simply wouldn’t stop. Danno covered his mouth with one hand, and cackled wickedly. Steve hit every button there was, and the moaning just kept getting louder, more passionate, more amorous. The SEALIE smacked the device hard enough on the tile floor that another crack formed in the view screen. The moaning stopped. He slid the device across the floor to Danno. 

Danno lifted the covers, and booted the percom under the bed. Stared across the room at Steve. The angry SEALIE avoided his questioning gaze. 

“How long should we wait before going to see Lieutenant Rollins?” Danno asked. 

Steve didn’t answer. He banged his head backwards against the wall behind him.

“Steve, if Rollins has been doing reconnaissance, and has set up a post from which to disseminate the intel she’s been gathering, I have a couple pertinent questions,” Danno prodded carefully. 

McGarrett lifted his head and glared at Williams. 

“Why here? Who is she gathering intelligence on?”

“It’s the waterfront. Plenty of people to surveille here,” Steve grumbled. 

“Who is she gathering intel for?” 

“Undoubtedly her commanding officer.” 

“Admiral Cleaver?” 

“Yes.” 

“What case is she working?” 

“Probably the same one we’re working. Cleaver would come all over himself with glee if he solved the case before we could,” Steve muttered bitterly. 

“Okay. I get that. Lieutenant Rollins is doing her job, gathering intel for Admiral Cleaver.”

“Yeah.” 

“But where does Big Bald come into this? Is he another admiral? Why should he be privy to her intel?” 

Steve frowned hard, and rocketed to his feet in one sleek movement. Danno worried he had said the wrong thing. Steve was going for his laser pistol. His gaze wasn’t focused on Danno though. It was focused on the patio curtains, the door as it was sliding open, and the silhouette of a man as he entered their room. 

McGarrett was at the curtains in two large steps, weapon in hand, face a mask of feral hatred. 

The curtains slid open. Big Bald’s serious face melted with amusement when he was met with the barrel of Steve’s laser pistol. 

“You sure you want to shoot me in the face? Wouldn’t you rather aim a bit further south, son?” 

Steve’s brows turned into one long line across his face. He lowered the gun, tucked it away, and stood at attention. He even snapped a quick salute. 

Big Bald saluted back. Grinned broadly. And slid both arms around McGarrett. Steve burrowed into the hug without delay. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Big Bald murmured, arms clenched tight around Steve. Danno watched the exchange, ticking off several boxes on his mental health checklist.

Daddy Issues? Check. Immediate submission to particular authority figures? Check. 

Big Bald patted Steve hard on the backside, and released him from the hug. His cold gray eyes centered on Danno, smile fading back to seriousness. 

“Pineapple Head?” he questioned.

“Fuck you,” Danno retorted. 

The big tooth smile returned with a vengeance. 

“Anyone else hungry? I’m starving,” Joe said.


	23. Old Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mmm...fish tacos...hot sauce. I miss hot sauce.

“As much as I’d like to tell you that David Cleaver is ass-deep in alligators here, the Admiral is not the person responsible for the attack on Iolani Palace or the waterfront hotels either,” Joe White reported, wolfing down fish tacos. 

“Hmph. Too bad,” Steve decided. 

“I’ve been running my own investigation alongside yours. Hope you don’t mind. Thought it was time we coordinated our efforts instead of pussyfooting around each other. Maybe we’ll get further together, you know?” Joe suggested. 

Steve snorted around a bite of taco, shoveling a piece of raw sushi in with the other hand. 

“Is every fucking person on this planet investigating this?” McGarrett wondered. Danno agreed with a disgruntled nod, working on another taco. 

“Cleaver sent Rollins to keep an eye on the Samoans. She’s coming up empty on them. What about on your end?” Joe wondered. 

“We got nothing, except a thin lead on the chemical compound used to take off the doors to get into the party,” Steve replied. He was shaking hot sauce onto his sushi. He lifted the piece between two fingers, and offered it to Danno. Williams raised a brow, and lifted his chin. Steve slid the bite-sized morsel into Danno’s mouth, and watched with pleasure as Danno chewed and hummed his approval. Steve immediately nudged several bites of sushi at Danno on the large communal plate they were all sharing. 

“Aqua Regis, if I’m not mistaken?” Joe questioned. He cleared his throat at Steve, and McGarrett straightened up in his chair. Steve pulled his spread knees back from Danno’s extended leg. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Not easy to come by.” 

“No, sir.” 

“We don’t have much time on this,” Joe commented. 

“No, sir,” Steve agreed. He shoveled in the last bite of his taco, and stared at Danno. He was no doubt wondering why the usually loquacious detective was being so quiet, letting him and Joe do most of the talking. 

“You’re not going to pull this kind of operation off, and hang around for too long,” Joe added. 

“No, sir,” McGarrett responded, head popping back to Joe. 

“Steve, you don’t have to do that, you know. I’m not your commanding officer. You don’t have to call me ‘sir’. I’m not even in the Navy any longer. I retired.” 

“You don’t look particularly retired, sir.” 

“Don’t I? Sipping little umbrella drinks on a sun-drenched planet?” Joe joked as he lifted his coconut cup and nudged the pink tissue paper and balsam-wood ornament aside to find his straw. 

“My ass,” Steve joked. “You always talked about buying a ranch, farming cattle, that kinda thing.” 

“I did all that. For two weeks. Bored myself stiff. Drove my ex wife apeshit crazy. I had to find something to do with my time. Started my own business. Freelance security. Hired a few old friends. A few old enemies too.”

“Yeah?” Steve whispered. 

“I was thinking, you know, if this task force gig doesn’t work out for you, I could always use a soldier like you on my team,” Joe offered. 

A broad smile played on Steve’s face. He was flattered, and he was blushing. His eyes drifted to Danno, and he nibbled on his bottom lip. 

“Thanks for the offer, sir, but the task force gig is working for me just fine,” Steve drawled. He lifted another bite of sushi, dashed hot sauce on it, and fed it to Danno. 

“I can see that,” Joe commented under his breath. “The offer stands.” 

“He’s right, you know,” Danno murmured. Steve nodded. “Whoever did this, they aren’t going to hang around on Hawaii, waiting to be captured. It’s been days. They could be halfway across the galaxy by now.” 

“I don’t think so,” Steve murmured. 

“What makes you say that?” Joe prodded. 

“You pull off an operation like this? You’re gonna wanna stand around and watch the fallout,” Steve shrugged. “If only to enjoy seeing the cops chase their tails.” 

“Valid point,” Danno said. “But I disagree. We should turn our search towards all avenues of departure off the planet.” 

“A step ahead of you, Detective Williams. I’ve got people in place at Aloha Oahu,” Joe said. “We’re cataloging everyone coming and going.” 

“Everyone?” Danno blanched. 

“Everyone.”

“You got bots inside the travel computers?” Steve wondered. 

“Bots inside. People monitoring the passenger lists,” Joe confirmed. 

“Anything interesting coming up?” Steve wondered. 

“Well, the Princess of Worchestershire has been in the spaceport every day, trying to get off Hawaii. There’s been issues with her passport, it seems,” Joe said. His cold gray eyes landed on McGarrett, and a brow went up. 

Steve snatched up another fish taco, shaking on enough hot sauce that he had dots all over his fingers. 

“She’s throwing around money like confetti, but no one is letting her leave.” 

“Isn’t that curious?” Danno agreed with Joe, who nodded, and stared harder at Steve. 

“What?” McGarrett gulped down a couple bites, stuffing a stray piece of ahi back in his mouth. “Not everyone is so easily impressed with princesses with rich husbands and more money that she knows what to do with.” 

“Apparently so,” Joe tested out a smirk. “Steve, she’s dropped more money in the last couple days than I’ve earned in a lifetime.” 

“Think of all the good you could do with that kind of money. Adopt a stray kitten? Rescue a baby seal? Self-centered human beings piss me off,” Steve growled. Danno narrowed his eyes at Steve, and McGarrett lowered his taco for a second. 

“If you’re using your influence to keep Rachel on Hawaii, you need to stop,” Danno insisted. 

“Me? I don’t have any influence,” Steve grinned wolfishly. 

“Steven.” 

McGarrett’s smile faded. He gulped down the last bite of taco, and left his chair in a slither of grace. 

“I don’t know if you’ve thought this through, Mr. Royal Consort….” Steve said dryly as he got down on all fours in front of the bed, and rooted around underneath. 

“Ex-Mr. Royal Consort,” Danno interjected defensively, watching that ass wiggle back and forth. 

“…..but Her Highness is less likely to blow Hawaii up if she’s trapped here,” Steve continued, emerging with his percom. He had to snap the screen back into place. 

“You put a block on her passport because you’re protecting the planet from annihilation?” Joe asked. 

“Yeah. I’m kinda attached to the place. It is my homeworld,” Steve retorted. 

“And that’s the only reason?” Joe wondered. 

“No. I’m also blocking her passport because she was humiliated my friend, and because baby seals are in danger when she’s at large, and because the Governor wouldn’t let me arrest her for possession of fur with intent to distribute. Any number of reasons,” Steve pouted. He held his percom to his ear, clearly waiting for a call to go through. “Captain Parsons? McGarrett. Howzit? Oh. Is she? Really? Right this second? Hmm. Is she offering you money? Shit. For real? That’s a lot of shells, man. I would take it. No, seriously, Captain. I would. Because that means I can arrest her for attempting to bribe her way through a military checkpoint during a crisis situation.” 

Steve grinned at Danno and Joe. White was chuckling. Danno was not. 

“Parsons? Can you hold her there?” McGarrett asked. 

“Steven…” Danno growled lowly. 

“Mmm, say it again,” Steve purred at Danno. Steve’s eyes got wide, and he went back to his percom. “Not you, Parsons. I was talking to someone else,” Steve blushed. “You make the princess comfortable. Me and my partner will be there in a flash.” 

Steve disconnected the transmission, and stuffed his percom back in his pocket. He looked terribly pleased with himself, at least until Danno's intense glare burned its way through to his conscience. He exchanged a sheepish glance with Danno, and lowered his chin to his chest. He lifted his eyes, stared through his lashes at Danno. Williams was so not moved. Joe’s percom bleated. He answered at once, putting the call on speaker. 

“White.” 

“Situation developing here, sir.” The slight Russian accent was all too familiar. 

“Yup?” Joe asked. Danno and Steve were both staring at the percom, mouths hanging open. 

“Is that….?” Danno asked. 

“Dah,” Steve nodded. 

“Most curious. Your Navy boys are taking her into custody.” 

“Good job, Frosty. Keep your eyes peeled,” Joe ordered. 

“Why would I peel my eyes?” Frosty answered before disconnecting the call. 

“You’re kidding me,” Danno laughed. 

“I should have known she was working for you,” Steve sighed, shaking his head. 

“You’re the one who hired that dirty mercenary?” Danno growled at Joe. 

“She continually bested the best of my best, including this little doggie here,” Joe remarked, taking a last sip from his umbrella drink. “I would have been an idiot not to hire her.” 

"The night of the party. You sent her to tail me, didn't you?" Steve pressed. 

"Old habits die hard, Steve. I needed to make sure you were okay. Since you seem to have forgotten my percom extension, and getting you to talk is like squeezing raindrops from a piece of pumice," Joe grumbled.

"I'm not a kid anymore, Joe."

"Aren't you?" White huffed. "I've protected you for more than twenty years, Steve. Think I'm gonna stop now?" 

"No, sir. Thank you, sir." 

"You're welcome. Ungrateful little shit. Can we go now?"


	24. Your Highness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danno has an awkward encounter with Rachel.

“Hey, McGarrett? How many SEALIEs does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”

Captain Parsons was a thin man with burnt-umber skin, dark curly hair, and a snide tone. He was quick with a salute, and then a handshake. Steve accepted both with automatic reflex, even if only one was actually appropriate. It seemed to Danno that the other military people around Steve were having just as hard a time adjusting to him not being on active duty as McGarrett was having. 

“What lightbulb? There is no lightbulb. I’m sure you must be mistaken,” Steve replied. It must have been an inside joke between the two of them. Parsons chuckled, adding a shoulder thump to the handshake. Steve smiled in reply, and motioned to Danny. “This is my partner, Detective Sergeant Daniel Williams.” 

“Mr. Royal Consort. Her Highness has dropped his name a couple times, and taken it in vain more than once as well,” Parsons reported to Steve conspiratorially, all while giving Danno a slow-crawl once-over with his shrewd eyes. “I’m surprised that a royal princess has such terrible diplomatic skills, going right for the bribery angle.”

“She offered the bribe? You agreed to accept the bribe? She forked over the shells? Then you arrested her?” Steve asked, checking over the paperwork on the tablet that Parsons handed him. 

“Yes, Commander. Exactly like you asked. She and her attendant are waiting in an interrogation room. But I warn you, you’re not going to like her.” 

“Way ahead of you on that front,” Steve mused, giving Parsons back his tablet. “Can you show me in? Do I need an official invitation, or do you have to announce me at the door?” McGarrett joked. 

“Maybe we should wait for her butler to look down his nose at you?” Parsons murmured. Steve could not stop grinning. 

“She’s got a butler in there too?” 

“Nah, man. But her attendant could mangle you, me, and your little buddy here without breaking a sweat. Don’t mess with her, all right? I don’t want to have to call Tank to put you back together again.” 

“I won’t cause any problems,” Steve promised. 

“Of course, you won’t,” Parsons snickered, walking Danno and Steve down the corridor towards the tiny interrogation room. Through the window, Rachel was partially-visible behind a being who was seven-foot tall, with shoulders as wide as the window. She was currently brushing Rachel’s hair for her, straightening her dark locks, weaving them together in a wonderful arrangement of braids and knots. 

“Danno, maybe you should wait outside,” Steve suggested. 

“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Williams remarked. 

“I don’t want you to start an interstellar incident, getting into an argument with your ex-wife,” Steve whispered. 

“You need me. In fact, maybe it would be better if you waited out here, and let me handle Rachel.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I’ve got more experience with her than you do.” 

“You gonna give her a foot rub, and sweet-talk her into being a good girl?” Steve tormented. Parsons swallowed a snicker. 

“You gonna put her in a headlock, and threaten to toss her into the lockup with the hardened criminals?” Danno retorted. “You gotta go about this the right way, babe, or we’re not getting anywhere with Rachel.” 

“You want me to kiss her ass, and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’?” Steve growled. 

“A certain amount of diplomacy will be required,” Danno answered. 

Steve tilted his head down, and furrowed his brow like an angry eagle. 

“The Princess of Worchester will answer every, last question I ask, or she will be spending the next decade in a holding cell,” McGarrett rumbled. “Danno, wait here.” 

“Don’t tell me what to do, Steven.” 

“Congratulations,” Parsons interjected. 

Both Danno and Steve stared at him in one quick, identical, synchronized turn of their heads, brows curled in confusion. 

“How long have you two been married?” Parsons grinned. 

His percom bleated a military marching band tune as Steve sputtered helplessly, and Danno’s face went through shock and annoyance and fury. The captain pulled out his percom, and tucked it against his ear, eyes darting back and forth between Steve and Danno. Steve started to wave a hand over the keypad for the interrogation room door, but Parsons put out an arm, barring Steve’s access for a few seconds. 

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll let him know. Parsons out.” 

“Who was that?” Danno asked as Parsons put the percom away.

“Governor Jameson. She’s on the way over. She gave strict instructions that you are not to question the princess without her present.” 

“Oh really?” Steve’s brow got bushier, and his face got tighter. 

“Commander, I can’t let you in there,” Parsons said cautiously. 

“But….” Steve protested. 

“But I can walk back to my station at the gate, and you can go in anyway while I’m not looking,” Parsons suggested. “Hark! Is that an incident by the outer gate? I believe I am needed elsewhere. Farewell.” 

Parsons cupped his hand to his ear theatrically, and made a show of hurrying away. Danno hid his face in his hands as Steve reached for the keypad. The door skooshed open to allow entrance. The attendant was in front of the princess in one step, bristling like a porcupine defending its favorite berry shrub. Danno didn’t want to think what the attendant might be able to do to them with that hairbrush. 

“Ma’am. Your Highness,” Steve bowed. 

“Commander McGarrett. Daniel,” Rachel remarked archly. 

“I wanted to ensure that Her Highness is being well-treated. Is there anything I can get for her? I apologize for the inconvenience, and for making you both wait, but the Governor is on her way. My instructions are to wait for the Governor to arrive. How can I make you more comfortable?” McGarrett murmured, eyes on the attendant the entire time. For her part, Rachel was doing the same surprised double-take that Danno was doing. 

“The princess is being well-treated under the circumstances,” the attendant replied. “I’m sure this is all a simple misunderstanding. Her Highness was suggesting making a donation to the…”

“Widows and Orphans Fund,” Rachel blurted. 

“Widows and Orphans Fund,” the attendant repeated. “The young man at the gate must have misinterpreted her intentions.” 

“I’m sure,” Steve agreed amicably. “Does the princess require anything?” 

“A spot of tea wouldn’t go unappreciated,” Rachel interjected. 

“Her Highness would like tea,” the attendant replied to Steve with a quick bow.

“What kind of tea does she require?” Steve asked. 

“Twinings. If you please. Thank you,” Rachel clipped off the words. 

“Her Highness would like Twinings,” the attendant relayed. 

“Biscuits?” Steve tempted pleasantly. 

“Yes. Please. Thank you, Commander,” Rachel answered. 

“Her Highness would be amenable to that suggestion,” the attendant relayed. 

Steve responded with another bow to the attendant. He did a smart about-face, and headed into the hallway. Danno raised a brow, studying the SEALIE with a curious and concerned expression. Williams started to follow McGarrett out of the room, but Rachel grabbed the edge of Danno’s robe with one quick hand. Fingers clenching tight. Looking more than a bit panicked. Danno was the only one who caught Steve’s half-smile, the glint of teeth, and the hint of mischief in his eyes. Steve motioned with one hand for Danno to stay. Not understanding this turn of events, Danno remained where he was. 

The door swished closed behind McGarrett. Rachel yanked Danno close, and wrapped her arms around him.

“Daniel, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this for me,” the princess babbled. “I’ve behaved horribly towards you, and yet here you are, bargaining for my release.” 

“I….uh….” Danno responded, blinking dumbly at Rachel.

Williams was in a daze from the obsequious manner in which Steve had acted. What was the SEALIE up to? There was something angular and sweet-smelling pressed entirely against him, distracting him from his concerns. It was Rachel in his arms, like nothing had changed between them. For months, this was something he would have given actual life’s blood to feel again. But now that it was happening, he could not have been more unmoved, more uncomfortable. 

Rachel wasn’t just his ex-wife who had humiliated and abused him. The one who had broken his heart, stolen his precious child, and moved several star systems away from him to elude him. She was another person’s spouse, and this was wrong. As much as she and Stan had had no qualms about breaking vows to be together, that was not something Danno would do. 

Rachel clearly hadn’t grown any qualms since their divorce. She was all grabby hands, and breathing desperately against his neck. Danno was uncomfortable. The attendant was nauseated, and struggling to hide her feelings. Rachel was making Danno’s flesh crawl. He felt sorry for her, but he wished she’d stop breathing on him. 

“I have underestimated the kind of man you are, Daniel, and I apologize,” Rachel continued. “If there is anything I can do to make amends to you, you have but to ask, and I will do it for you.” 

“It’s going to be all right.” 

“Anything, Daniel. Anything,” she repeated. 

“It’s going to be all right,” Danno whispered, patting Rachel gently on the hand. Danno found himself saying the words, feeling the words, feeling gentle towards Rachel in spite of all his previous anger and pain. She was scared, and helpless, and he couldn’t help but want to protect her. 

“Your commander? You can reason with him, can’t you? What are his weaknesses? He’ll release me, won’t he? Tell him to name his price, and he will have it.”

“Rachel, you aren’t going to be able to bribe your way out of a bribery charge,” Danno responded with a painful grimace. 

“Quite right. Yes. I wasn’t trying to bribe anyone. This is a simple misunderstanding. I need…. Daniel. I need to get out of here. I can’t handle imprisonment. You know how I get if I can’t come and go. I need… Daniel? I need to get out of here. You have to get me out of here.” 

“I will,” Danno promised. 

Two things happened simultaneously which Danno was not prepared for – Rachel was kissing him ardently on the mouth, and the door jerked open with a disapproving hiss. It was like he was being attacked by a sucker-fish with seven tentacles. He reacted instantly. He pushed Rachel away, and whirled around to face the door, both ashamed and astonished. 

Governor Jameson was straightening her robe sleeves. McGarrett was right behind her, holding up a silver tray filled with tea and biscuits. An array of dainty, beautiful cups. He had even managed to scare up a small vase and a rose. Steve peeked over Jameson’s shoulder, and locked gazes with Danno. McGarrett grinned playfully for half a second at the sheer embarrassment on Danno’s face. 

Rachel retreated behind her attendant. Danno stood in the middle of two steps, awkwardly touching his mouth. 

“Detective Williams, please wait outside with Commander McGarrett,” the Governor ordered. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Danno blurted. He raced out of the interrogation room, right past Steve, clear to the end of the corridor. Steve set the tray on the table in the interrogation room. Fluffed up the rose petals. Nodded to the attendant, to the Governor, and finally faced Rachel. 

“Does Her Highness have any message she would like to relay to her husband?” McGarrett wondered. Not without a smile. Rachel bristled angrily at him, embarrassed that he had caught her kissing Danno. 

“That will be all, Commander,” Jameson interjected pointedly. She tossed her eyes towards the door, and added the silent order for him to leave, now, or else, mister. McGarrett hurried to obey. The door closed to the sound of his muted chuckles. 

Steve found Danno with his hands on his knees and his butt backed up against the wall. The man was bent over, heaving for breath like he had run a marathon. When Steve approached, Danno roared up to his full height, and bellowed at him. Fists clenched at the ends of his stock-stiff arms.

“Could you have kissed her ass any harder?!” 

“Says the guy who was just snorkeling his ex-wife?” Steve retorted. 

“What the hell are you up to, McGarrett?” Danno demanded. Steve waited a beat, stared back and forth, and leaned in closer to his enraged partner. 

“Ethyl alcohol,” the SEALIE whispered, dragging Danno into the observation box and closing the door behind. 

“What?” Danno whispered, a chill running through his veins. 

“It was that or sodium pentothal, but I couldn’t imagine how I was going to get close enough to inject her.” 

“You slipped a mickey in Rachel’s tea?” 

Steve grinned. Danno grabbed him roughly by the throat, and pushed him up against the wall of the interrogation room. 

“Are you out of your mind!?” 

Steve’s eyes teased Danno for a moment before turning to the one-way window. The attendant had poured tea into two cups, and was dropping sugar cubes into Rachel’s for her. 

“She’ll tell the Governor anything she wants to know,” Steve promised. 

Danno rushed to the glass, and plastered himself against it. All three women in the interrogation box watched the glass quivering. 

“You could burst in there, grab away her cup, make a dramatic spectacle. But I think you know what kind of situation we’re in here,” McGarrett purred. 

“Shut up, Steve,” Danno hissed. Steve folded his mouth together obediently, then unfurled a quick smile. 

“Ma’am, Your Highness, I apologize for the manner in which the young men have been treating you. You’ll have to excuse their brash and impulsive natures. I’m sure this is a simple misunderstanding. Maybe you don’t have a clear picture of the rules and regulations here on Hawaii,” Jameson began in a motherly tone. 

She paused for a sip of tea. Her eyes widened, and she turned around in her seat to look at the glass again. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. But she took another sip of tea all the same. 

“Thank you, Governor Jameson, for your concern. We can work this out. I’m sure we can,” Rachel nodded eagerly. 

“Thank you for…” the attendant began to relay the message, but Rachel touched her hand. 

“That won’t be necessary,” the princess whispered. 

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“Leave us. Thank you.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” 

The attendant withdrew from the table, walking straight to the one-way mirror, and glaring into the room at Steve and Danno. Danno gulped, and pulled slightly back from the window. 

“Tell me how this all started,” Jameson pleaded. 

“I need to get off the planet, but my passport has been blocked. It was added, I’m sure by complete accident, to a list of drug runners and smugglers who cannot travel,” Rachel rambled. She finished one cup of tea, and poured herself another, throwing in more sugar cubes. 

“Your Highness, I will have your name removed from the hold list. You have my most sincere apologies,” Jameson continued. 

“Good tea, this,” Rachel whispered. She started on the biscuits, nibbling politely. Jameson reached for a biscuit when Rachel pushed the little stack of goodies towards her. Steve tapped the glass quickly and repeatedly. Jameson flinched, and said no to the biscuits. 

“It must be important, your reason for getting home. I noticed on the itinerary that you’re headed back to your homeworld,” the Governor said, glancing at her tablet before putting it away again. 

“Yes. Ma’am. Yes. Very important.” 

“May I ask?” 

“My mother’s birthday. I’ve never missed it. There will be a proper feast, and a celebratory fête on a grand scale. Parades. I love a good parade. So does Mummy.” 

“Who doesn’t love a good parade?” Jameson agreed. “When is it?”

“What?” 

“Your mother’s birthday.” 

“Next week. It’ll take at least that long to get there. That must seem foolish to you. Having to be home for my…” 

“It’s not foolish at all,” Jameson soothed. “I have a mother too. I know how much it takes, how much it means, to make one happy.” 

“It would mean the world to me to be home for my mother’s birthday.” 

“And to see your daughter, no doubt? You must be worried about her, anxious to see her?” 

“Surely, yes, also Grace. I just… I know she’s in good hands with my parents. I’m not worried when she’s with Mummy and Daddy.”

“So you’re not trying to leave Hawaii for any other reason?” Jameson asked. 

“What?” 

“No other reason?” 

“Surely not. What other reason would I have?” 

“Eluding the authorities on the fur charges?” Jameson asked. 

“No, ma’am. No. Not at all.”

“Do you mean to interfere with the custody case provisions that were agreed upon early?” 

“No, ma’am. No. I have no intention of interfering. I will keep to my promises, and renegotiate the terms of Daniel’s visitation and custody. I swear to you, that is not my intention at all.” 

“Thank you for the reassurances. No other reason then?” 

“No, ma’am.” 

“I believe I can help you get home in time for your mother’s birthday. I myself am scheduled to take part in a negotiation in the New Delhi system. The Prime Minister. She’s a friend. We went to the same schools together.” 

“Prime Minister Sighn and I are also good friends. What a small galaxy it is!” Rachel exclaimed happily. 

“I’ll be travelling by ship tomorrow, and I would be honored for you to join me as my personal guest,” Jameson offered. 

“That would be too kind of you,” Rachel bubbled, shifting around in her seat. 

“Not at all. My way of apologizing for the rough treatment you’ve experienced while you’ve been on Hawaii. How close you came to losing your life? Your husband, his financial losses must have been devastating.” 

“Not at all. I mean, yes, of course, Stanley did lose a great deal of money – with the loss of his hotels along the waterfront, and having the deal with the Samoans put on hold for the moment…” Rachel caught herself and continued. 

“I do hope he was well insured?” 

“Adequately,” Rachel nodded. 

“And how is he recovering, after the attack?” 

“As well as can be expected. My Stanley is quite the trooper. He’s taking it all in stride.” 

“Good. Good. And you?” 

“Me?” 

“How are you recovering?” 

“Honestly, I’m fine. A couple of bruises. Nothing to fuss about, certainly not when other people lost their homes and their lives,” Rachel chided. 

“But you are very anxious to get off Hawaii. To put some distance between yourself and…”

“Wouldn’t you be anxious to be gone from a place where you almost lost your life?” 

“And I can help you do that,” Jameson promised. “I will see you home myself. It will be my pleasure.” 

“Thank you. I don’t know what to say to such generosity,” Rachel bubbled nervously. 

“Say yes, and all is settled. We’ll get you a berth, see to your every comfort.” 

“Thank you. Yes, of course, yes,” the princess agreed. 

“Good. Very good,” Jameson nodded. The princess poured herself another cup of tea, and started shoveling in biscuits one after the other, barely chewing. 

“May I speak to Daniel again?” Rachel asked through a mouthful of cookies. 

“If I have your word you two will maintain a level of civil politeness?” 

“I don’t mean to yell at him. I want to thank him for helping me.” 

“In that case, I will send Detective Williams in at once. I will see that your luggage is transferred to the proper launching pad, for the trip tomorrow. With your blessings?” 

“Yes, please, certainly,” Rachel smiled brightly. 

“It must pass through the proper channels first. Search. Catalog. Make certain you aren’t transporting any other illicit substances or merchandise?” 

“Not a bit of it,” Rachel promised. “Oh, except, there is…I mean…” 

“Yes, Your Highness?” 

“I turned over all the fur that I have but for one item.” 

“That will also have to be surrendered.” 

“Handcuffs,” Rachel murmured. 

“Furry handcuffs?” Governor Jameson blanched, brow rising. Rachel giggled, ate a biscuit, and blushed as she tucked her head down. 

“My husband…”

“No need for explanation,” the Governor winced. 

“He’s quite turned on by complete submission.” 

“Not something you have to discuss with me, I assure you.” 

“Daniel too.” 

Danno melted with chagrin as the SEALIE unfurled a wicked brow bounce at him. 

“He can’t get enough of being in charge,” Rachel babbled, adding another soft giggle. “In the bedroom. If you know what I mean.” 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Governor Jameson sighed. 

“I couldn’t bear to part with the cuffs. So many good memories.” 

Jameson pined uncomfortably, rising to her feet, straightening her sleeves. 

“Couldn’t I keep them, for all time’s sake?” Rachel pleaded.

“I think in this case, yes, I can make an exception.” 

“Thank you. Thank you so much!” 

“Ma’am. Your Highness. I will see that you are escorted to a more pleasant location than a spaceport detention cell. Once again, I apologize for the whole entire misunderstanding. Please contact me if you need anything else tonight. I’ll see you again tomorrow. Launch time is two p.m.” 

Governor Jameson swept for the door as Rachel wobbled to her feet, and bowed in reply to Jameson’s polite nod. 

“Can I take the tea and biscuits with me?” Rachel wondered. 

“Absolutely,” Jameson promised. 

“Oh, goodie!” Rachel bubbled, snatching several, munching them left, right, and center. The attendant hurried over, brushing crumbs off her mistress’s clothes and out of her hair. "Thank Commander McGarrett for the tea and biscuits. Also for the splash of tipple. Quite appreciated." 

"Of course," Jameson added.

The door skooshed closed, and the Governor sighed with relief. She tapped the keypad for the observation room. Danno was pacing back and forth. Steve was leaning casually against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest, shit-eating grin covering his features. He was all teeth from every angle. 

"Detective? Is your ex-wife telling the truth about her mother's birthday?" 

"Yes," Danno rumbled, squinting. "It's a lavish affair. Parades. Parties. Feasts on a grand scale." 

“Very well. Her Highness would like to speak with you,” Jameson pointed to her left. 

“Yes, ma’am. Sorry you had to hear that,” Danno blurted. 

“Not another word,” the Governor insisted with a finger wiggle. “I am struggling even now to clear my mind of what she said.” 

Danno bustled past Jameson, apologizing under his breath again and again. Steve was snickering. But that stopped once the Governor stepped in the observation room and closed the door. 

“STEVEN J. McGARRETT!” Jameson bellowed. 

“Ma’am,” Steve crumbled with the stern admonishment. He tucked his neck and head down into his shoulders, staring at the floor, darting glanced up now and again. 

“If you ever pull a stunt like that again, there will be consequences.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Your team is free to search the Princess’s baggage at will, with the understanding that you will report any illegal or illicit substances you find.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Then you will escort the Princess and her attendant to this address, and they are to be given my own suite. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve echoed, accepting the tablet for a moment before giving it back to the Governor. 

“Good bourbon. Quality stuff, that. The captain’s stash, I’m assuming?” 

“Yes, ma’am.”

"What, pray tell, was in the biscuits?" 

Steve paused for a moment before grinning. "Nothing. I was just fucking with you. Sorry." 

"Goddamn it, Steven," Jameson cursed, shaking her head and smiling slightly. “Carry on then. I expect you to be on your best behavior with the Princess, will you?” 

“Yes, ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have always been bothered by Danny's affair with Rachel in canon at the end of Season 1. Maybe because I'd like to believe he's a very moral man? Maybe because after what he went through, Rachel leaving him and marrying Stan so quickly, that he wouldn't want to inflict the same pain on someone else? Maybe it's just me then. I dunno.


	25. Radioactive

“Steve, I’m no expert on royal etiquette and proper decorum, but I am pretty sure that what you’re doing right now would get you, at minimum, a life sentence and partial dismemberment if we were on London Prime.” 

“That’s harsh,” Steve barked as he whirled to answer Danno, balancing Rachel up on one shoulder. He nearly clocked his partner in the head with one huge, high heel. Danno ducked to avoid diamond-and-pearl-studded death. Steve shifted his ever-present cloth pouch further to one side, covering his front with the hanging bag. Danno couldn’t imagine that was a coincidence. 

“You do not touch a royal princess’s person without permission. People have had their hands hacked off for just such a breach of etiquette.” 

“You’re kinda sensitive on this topic, aren’t you?” Steve asked.

“Get your hand off Rachel’s ass,” Danno growled. Steve readjusted his grip, but his giant paw slid right back into place.

“I can’t decide if you’re angry and jealous because I’m touching _her_ , or because _I’m_ touching her.”

The princess was out cold. She couldn’t have cared less where Steve had to put his hand to keep her balanced on his shoulder. If she were conscious, she would have been grateful that he hadn’t dropped her on her face. When she had been released from the detention cell, there had been a flurry of non-stop words, hugs, kisses, a stream of tears, and wicked, happy giggles. That had lasted all the way through the spaceport, until finally, blessed silence reigned when she passed out during the hovercraft trip to the hotel. Danno wasn’t so sure that McGarrett hadn’t used a super-secret, ninja neck pinch to render the princess unconscious. McGarrett shifted his grip again, and nearly lost his load. 

“Shit.” 

Steve scrambled, twisted, and caught Rachel as she fell. He pulled her around, letting her lie across his arms in front instead. She was draped across Steve like a swooning heroine on the cover of a cheap romance novel. Danno didn’t seem any happier with this arrangement. 

“Would you rather carry her yourself?” Steve teased. 

“You do not touch a royal princess without permission. And you certainly don’t cop a feel while she’s unconscious!” Danno griped, poking the keypad for the elevator to the exclusive suites. 

“You know, Danno? Of all the asses available in my life, asses I have ever had to put my hands all over, your ex-wife’s derriere would be my last choice. Okay?”

“You are unbelievable,” Danno growled. 

“I’m trying not to let her face-plant on the floor,” Steve insisted. 

“Whatever,” Danno muttered, eyes going down to Steve’s midsection, hidden behind his cloth pouch. Steve was embarrassed by the implication of that accusing gaze.

“I don’t know how many unconscious people you’ve carried around for an extended period of time, but trust me when I tell you, there are precious few handholds on the average human being. The gluteus maximus being the best one. If it’s any consolation, your delicate, petite, shrew of an ex-wife weighs about three hundred pounds when she’s zonked out cold. It’s not like she can walk on her own in this condition.”

“And whose fault is that?” 

“I have to carry her one way or the other. There are two options. Over the shoulder. Or across my arms. Unless of course you want me to drop her to the ground, and drag her around by her hair?” 

“You’re an animal,” Danno snarled, pushing Steve into the elevator. Just for that, Steve put Rachel up over his left shoulder again. 

They rode in awkward silence, eyes on the ceiling. Rachel was drooling down Steve’s back. There was a puddle of goo dripping off McGarrett’s long braid, and pooling at the rise of his own backside. Danno smirked, and decided not to tell him.

It was all well and good until Steve’s percom bleated. Steve glanced down, then to his right. Danno glanced left, and met Steve’s gaze. 

“Could you?” Steve wondered, shifting his hip and pushing it at Danno. 

“It can go to voice mail,” Danno decided.

“Fuck you, man,” Steve rumbled. 

McGarrett slid Rachel’s feet to the floor and held her against his chest while retrieving his percom. Danno pushed and held Rachel’s head up again when it leaned over backwards, and she began to breathe sonorously, her snores echoing in the small elevator. 

“McGarrett?” 

When Steve said the word, Rachel realized she was upright, and she jerked awake again. Danno flinched back from her. 

“Sure, Chin. Send it over. Appreciate it. Danno and I will be down briefly.” 

“ ‘Mander?” Rachel slurred. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

Steve put away his percom, and held Rachel at arms’ length. She slipped a lace and satin sleeve along her damp face, gave a wet, snorkel of sound, and then composed her twisted clothes. 

“We’re nearly there,” Steve reported uncomfortably. 

“Where?” Rachel wondered, wobbling around in confusion. “All the pretty lights,” she cooed. “Oh, Daniel. Hello, love.” 

“Hey,” Danno replied, smile tense as he put out both arms to steady Rachel. She tottered towards the window side of the elevator with him. As they emerged out of the regular portion of the spaceport hotel, rising smoothly up the tower which led to the exclusive suites, the window came alive with the night sky and a sea of lights and colors. There were streams of traffic below, hovercrafts like small fish in an endless river of movement. The falling twilight was like the ocean, with bands and ribbons of small fish flitting through the waves and wells. 

“It’s not black.” 

Steve’s words caught Danno by surprise. 

“What’s that?” 

“Space. It’s not black. It’s actually deep blue.” 

“What?” 

“People are always talking about the blackness of space. But it’s not black. It’s deep blue,” Steve corrected. 

“Okay,” Danno nodded, unsure how to interpret the non-sequitur remark. 

Just as quickly as they had appeared, the sky and stars and lights vanished. The lift had reached its destination. Emerging from the elevator into an outer chamber, Steve and Danno were suddenly surrounded by an enormous entourage of attendants and body guards, all bristling with anger and resentment. Rachel echoed a high-pitched, amused laugh, rolling left, then right, then left again in an effort to stay upright. 

“I see everyone’s already here. Sorry we’re late for the party,” Steve remarked. 

Danno helped Rachel stagger out. She flopped gracelessly into the arms of the nearest attendant, the one who had been with her at the detention cell. Steve had sent her on ahead to prepare for Rachel’s arrival. The ladies-in-waiting scrambled to carry, lift, and touch any part of the princess, escorting her into her private suite to get her ready for bed. 

“You can leave now, soldier,” the lead body guard snarled, preventing Danno and Steve from getting even one step further into the outer chamber. 

McGarrett smiled amicably. He tucked his thumbs against the front of his waist, extended fingers drawing attention downward to his own anatomy. If this was going to turn into a pissing contest, he wanted to let the other guy know where he stood, it would seem. McGarrett took in the angry crowd with one swift glance. Whatever internal thoughts he was having were making a dangerous light fill his eyes. His gaze dropped to the three weapons displayed along the guard’s strapping legs, rising again to the other man’s face. 

“We should…” Danno said, taking hold of Steve’s closest arm, pulling him towards the open elevator. McGarrett had been restrained for too long, minding his manners, saying please and thank you. Much more of this forced politeness, and the SEALIE was likely to blow his top at the smallest provocation. An asshole body guard with an inflated ego and ramrod spine might be just the excuse McGarrett needed to cause an interstellar incident they would be untangling for years to come. 

In short, Danno did not need to know how far up this guy’s ass Steve’s fist might extend. He had a feeling if he didn’t wrangle the SEALIE in, he was about to find out too. 

Once they were behind the closed doors of the elevator, Steve adjusted his gunbelt, stroked his laser handle, and shifted his buckle up and down. Danno leaned his forehead against the window, sighing with relief. Steve ran his hands around his own waist, flexing his sore back, and found the pool of drool and snot. 

“Awwww,” McGarrett complained, pulling a hand away, leaving trails of goo in stringy strands. 

Steve dropped his cloth bag to the ground, lifted his arms, and pulled off his shirt off over his head. Just like that. All muscle and tanned skin. Danno turned around slowly, unable to keep his eyes off the man as he used his teeshirt to wipe off his wet back and hip.

“Grooooooooss,” Steve whined. 

“Do me a favor? Macho man? Never have kids,” Danno snorted, reclining against the window, crossing his arms over his chest, enjoying the view as Steve balled the shirt up into a tiny, tight bundle, and stuffed it into a thigh pocket. 

“Enjoying the view?” Steve grumbled. 

“Yeah,” Danno smiled back at him. “Can I ask a question?” 

“I suppose so.” 

“Your tattoo. The flower.” 

“Lotus blossom.” 

“Whatever. When I told you I saw that on one of the attackers, you said it wasn’t possible.”

“It’s not.” 

“Why not?” 

“There are only two people in the universe with this exact tattoo,” Steve pointed to one bicep with the other hand. He caressed the ink, memories washing over his moist eyes. 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“Freddie drew it on me himself, and inked his own arm as well with the same design. It’s personal. It’s private. It’s not possible that anyone else would have the same tattoo.” 

“Freddie?” 

“Freddie Hart. One of the members of my SEALIE team.” 

“Where’s Freddie now? Is he ex-military? Could he be part of this?” 

In an instant, Steve pushed Danno up against the window, holding him aloft by both shoulders. He was up in Danno’s face, all snarls and sharp angular eyes. 

“Take it back,” Steve hissed between clenched teeth. 

“Steve, put me down.” 

“Freddie is dead. He’s not part of this. Take it back.” 

“Steve…” 

“HE GAVE HIS LIFE, DOING HIS JOB, PROTECTING THIS…” 

“Steve, I take it back,” Danno soothed, hands balanced gently on Steve’s broad shoulders. McGarrett dropped the smaller man hard to the floor, pushing away from his hands, from any touch at all. Steve raced as far away as he could get – the other side of the elevator. He curled up in his own arms for a moment. Then he dragged his cloth bag close, rooting around inside. He withdrew a black tee, yanking it back over his head, shivering against the cold when there was none. He kept his face turned away as he growled at Danno. 

“Freddie got married, you know. He got married right before we shipped out for the Gavla extraction. He shows up at the dock, and he’s got this ring, and this gaudy, red heart on his arm, and he’s all smiles and laughs. He married his girl on the spur of the moment, because he felt it was the right thing to do. I’ve never seen him so happy.” 

Steve got the words out, but only barely before a slippery noise followed. Danno was melting, once again protective. 

“I’m sorry,” Danno murmured. “I had no right to say that.” 

“He got married, left his wife at the chapel, and he was dead fourteen hours later.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“They never got a honeymoon. They never got anything but a quick bit of hoo-ha behind the chapel where they were married. They were up each other’s clothes for all of five minutes before he had to say goodbye, and grab a shuttle to the dock. But you know what?” 

“What?” Danno wondered, wishing he could soothe away the empty, lonely, hollow sound in Steve’s chest. 

“Kelly had a baby while I was in the hospital. She sent me pictures. She’s beautiful. She’s perfect. She’s…she looks just like Freddie.” 

Danno moved slowly forward, running his hand and arm around Steve’s side, feeling the shudders that wracked his form. 

“I do have one regret about Gavla,” Steve admitted quietly. 

“What’s that?” 

Steve sniffed loudly. “I sent Cath away instead of Freddie.” 

Danno held on tight, an anchor, a rock to lean against. 

“You couldn’t have known what would happen,” he offered.

“I had a bad feeling,” Steve insisted, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, well,” Danno shrugged. 

“I was jealous. So jealous,” Steve continued, his voice soft, his muscles unclenching. Was Danno imagining it, or was the big man leaning against him? Grateful for the warmth to chase away the chill in his cold flesh. 

“Sure, you were. You could have that too. A wife. A kid. I don’t think Lieutenant Rollins would refuse you any request,” Danno whispered in reply. Steve snorted loudly, laughter and sorrow warring in his reply. 

“Not really what I meant,” he murmured, daring to catch Danno’s gaze. 

The kiss happened so fast that it took Danno several seconds to respond. Steve’s lips were warm and firm against Danno’s mouth, heart pumping under the other man’s touch as he put his arms up around the SEALIE’s shoulders. Danno moaned out of reflex and appreciation, and Steve let him slowly back down. Realization was dawning in Danno’s face. 

“You were in love with Freddie too?” 

“In love with? I dunno,” Steve stammered shyly. “They kinda frown on that in the Navy.”

“Frown on what?” Danno asked. Steve leaned in to claim another kiss, moving to Danno’s ear, trailing feather-soft touches down his exposed neck. 

"Sexual liaisons between sailors. Navy doesn't support that kinda thing." 

"Not that that would have been different. You breaking the rules? Forging ahead regardless of the consequences?" Danno tormented, even while nibbling on Steve's ear. 

"You got the wrong idea about me, Danno. I'm straight and narrow. By the book. I'm... just..." 

"Wrong idea about you?" Danno laughed deeply. 

“I would have done anything for Freddie. I’m not sure if that’s love. Maybe?” Steve wondered as he let his hands slide down Danno’s back, cupping under his firm posterior, gripping tight as Danno groaned against him. 

“Sounds like,” Danno gulped and nodded. 

“Problem is, not sure the feeling was mutual,” Steve continued the external but self-searching monologue. “I mean, what if I made a move, and he wasn’t at all interested? I couldn’t take that chance.” 

“You’ve regretted it ever since?” Danno breathed, tongue scraping his lips hungrily. 

“Until I met you,” Steve whispered. 

Steve’s eyes patrolled Danno’s face as he eased between the detective’s knees, and lifted him high enough up the doors to kiss him again with a vengeance. He was grinding against Danno, and sucking the breath right out of him. 

Not that Danno minded at all. But he knew as he glanced over Steve’s shoulder that the elevator was slowing down, about to land on the ground floor. As the lift slid into place, the window lit up. There was a distinct sucking sensation against his raised butt. The vacuum-seal created by the doors escaped as they hissed open. Steve caught Danno, set him on the ground, and walked past him like nothing had been happening. Like he hadn't had his tongue so far down Danno's throat he was scraping his tonsils?

“Commander? Everything okay?” 

Parsons greeted them from the center of the hallway. Chin and Kono stood to either side, brows raised in opposite, identical but reverse amusement. 

“All good,” Steve replied, continuing to stride away from the elevator, the situation, and Danno too. What was it about this guy and sending mixed signals? 

“We were having a little disagreement,” Danno explained, clearing his throat, straightening his clothes as he exited the elevator. He walked through Chin and Kono as the rookie leaned to her cousin and whispered. 

“About what? Who gets to top?” 

Chin maintained a straight face even as Danno bristled and turned to needle Kono with a sharp glare. 

“Five-O. On my lead. On the double,” Steve called out, dangerous eyes back over his shoulder before staring ahead again. “Parsons? Thanks? I owe you.” 

“You owe me,” Parsons agreed, turning his attention back to the spaceport security gate, leaving the team alone. 

“I sent you the chemical breakdown of the XB-87 used in the compound that was sprayed on the door hinges,” Chin said. 

“Reading it right now,” Steve answered, percom in hand, eyes scanning the page. 

“These idiots substituted a radioactive isotope in this particular formula,” Chin continued, striding over to Steve and standing close. 

“Once we realized one of their ingredients was radioactive, we were able to trace where the isotope was purchased, where it was taken to be added to the formula, where the formula was stored until they needed it,” Kono added. 

“Whoever was near this isotope will be carrying residual amounts of it around in their bodies. Their cells. Their bones,” Chin said, lifting his own tablet, showing Steve the screen. 

“Why are you reading the chemical signature on me?” Steve asked as Chin waved the tablet up and down McGarrett’s form. 

“You were there at the explosion site, like we were. The level of the radioactive isotope in our bodies in minimal. Detectable, but minimal,” Kono told him. 

"Danger of radiation poisoning?" Steve worried. 

"Not with the amount we've been exposed to, no," Chin soothed. “Anyone who was at the party would have a trace reading, but anyone who had been around the stuff for days and days, during the distillation and storing process? While they were planning how and when they were going to attack Iolani Palace. They’re going to give off sky-high readings, at least until the radioactivity disperses,” Chin reported. 

Kono scanned Danno, and got a trace higher amount than was on Steve’s person. 

"You were the closest of all, so you have the highest reading," she explained to the concerned detective. 

“We don’t have a lot of time, gentlemen, but if we can run a scan over every person who was at that party…” Chin began. 

“Get on it,” Steve agreed, touching his percom to Chin’s tablet. 

“What are you doing?” Danno wondered. 

“Cloning the program. I need to be able to scan our suspects.” 

“We have suspects?” Danno wondered incredulously. 

“We do,” Steve rumbled. 

“When did we get actual suspects?” Danno demanded. 

“Thanks, brah. Carry on,” Steve ordered Chin. 

“It’ll take approximately twenty-four hours to locate everyone else who was present at the celebration,” Kono added. 

“Then like Chin said, we haven’t got a lot of time,” Steve agreed. 

"Where do we start?" Kono asked. 

"At the morgue. With the dead attackers."

"Why?" Danno asked as Chin and Kono frowned in confusion. "We already know they're involved." 

"You said you saw my lotus on someone. I want to see who it was."

"How is that going to help?" Danno sputtered, following in the wake of the long-legged SEALIE. 


	26. Brothers Under the Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Danny visit Max in the morgue.

“Oh, look. They’re all still dead.” 

Danno’s voice echoed in the morgue. It was an expanse of cold metal—the walls, the floors, the drawers, the tables, the instruments, the window sills. Designed to be efficient, and easy to clean no doubt. You could have turned on a hose, and washed the entire space down in one go, including the sealed overhead lights. This was the one place on Hawaii which did not smell like pineapples. No—far worse. It smelled like pineapples preserved in formaldehyde. 

Max tilted his head, and blinked his gray eyes at the detective. His round, bespectacled face was filled with puzzlement. 

“Were you anticipating a different result, Detective Williams?” he inquired in all seriousness. 

“No, Max. I’m sorry,” Danno replied, shaking his head, rubbing his eyes. 

As androids went, Max was top of the line. Ahead of his time, literally. A good egg, even if he didn’t always get Danno’s jokes. 

Governor Denning had spared no expense in getting the best of the best for his special task force. That included requisitioning the newest medical examiner android. Max’s brother and sister constructs would not be ready for mass distribution to the United Systems planets and starships for another year or two, maybe longer. Danno didn’t know how Denning had managed to pry Max away from his creators ahead of schedule, and he didn’t want to ask either. 

Universal rights activists had tied up the release of the medical examiner androids by suing on their behalf for self-autonomy. Danno could get behind that protest – was it not slavery to propose that any beings should be mass-produced and forced to function against their wills, to serve the whims or needs of another being without regard to their own needs or personal safety? While Danno was familiar with Asimov’s Three Rules of Robotics, that didn’t make slavery right, or moral, or easier to swallow. While there were those who asserted that androids should not have the same rights and privileges as living, breathing beings, Danno could not have disagreed more. What if the MAX androids didn’t want to go into the medical field? What if they wanted to be teachers, or artists, or writers, or detectives? Why shouldn’t all beings, organic or artificial, have self-autonomy? Danno had quietly donated money to the cause of android autonomy. Not that he would admit that to anyone. It was a touchy topic for some folks. 

Max was programmed with all available medical information. He could serve as both a medical examiner and a doctor as well. He could be easily updated in the event of new breakthroughs and discoveries, because he had an inexhaustible memory bank and total recall. He had been programmed with the languages and cultural practices of all known star systems. He had been programmed to respond to any number of scenarios, with the ability to adapt to new scenarios which might come along. Max was highly intelligent. Above all else, he was eager to learn. He had practical functionality out the wazoo. 

Moreover, Max had been built to closely resemble the humans which would depend on him. He blended in very well. He had been made to appear human in every way, to make patients more at ease with him. He had touchable skin; life-like hair; a gentle soothing voice; a polite and amiable personality. Although he had perfect vision, Max wore eyeglasses. Even if he didn’t understand all the nuances of habit and speech used in his presence, Max strived very hard to coexist with those around him. He emulated his humans to fit in with them, often with mixed results. He wasn’t perfect. He was flawed. But he was more human than some of the humans that Danno knew! Max should have been easy to like. 

That’s why Danno felt so guilty that Max made him so uneasy. Danno wasn’t sure why the android gave him the willies, but he did. Every time Danno was compelled to be in the same room with Max, he could feel the android watching him, studying his every word, his every move. Max would look deeply into Danno’s face in a disquieting manner. Was the android seeing something there that Danno didn’t want to know? It made Danno feel guilty that on one hand he supported Max’s right to choose his own destiny one-thousand percent, but on the other hand Max totally creeped him out. 

Kono and Chin had read Danno’s discomfort right from his first day, their first case. They would deal with Max at the morgue or at crime scenes, allowing Danno to concentrate on the paperwork. However, while Kono and Chin would gladly work around Danno’s android phobia, Steve wasn’t having any part of that enabling shit. He had dragged Danno most unwilling to the morgue. 

McGarrett raised his eyes from the body bag on the table, and cast a chastising glance at Danno. 

“Max, you’ll have to forgive Danno,” Steve started.

“Will I?” Max wondered without venom. Steve grinned. 

“Danno is trying to be funny.” 

“Ah. An attempt at humor. Sarcasm, if I am not mistaken?” Max brightened at Steve’s words. 

“Sarcasm. The lowest form of humor,” Steve scolded. 

“On the contrary, Commander McGarrett. My databanks indicate that the pun is considered the lowest form of humor,” Max corrected. 

“Duly noted,” Steve agreed. “Puns are worse than sarcasm. Max, I told you how many times, brah? You can call me ‘Steve’.” 

“ ‘Brah’,” Max tested the word, turning his head to one side to stare at their reflections in the closest, silvery wall. He lifted his right hand, and studied at it as he flexed his fingers a couple times. Then he stared at Steve’s right hand and arm, up and down and around his right shoulder and spine. 

_They are brothers under the skin,_ Danno understood. 

“Continually asking me to address by your given name is the offer of a friendship bond, is it not, Commander?” 

“I call you by your given name.” 

“Out of necessity. I do not have a family name,” Max replied. 

“You should choose one,” Steve suggested.

“Thank you. Steve. Perhaps I will,” Max agreed. 

“You’re welcome, Max. Tell me what you know about our deceased attackers.” 

“May I ask, before we begin, what first precipitated your offer of friendship?” 

“I dunno. We work together. We should be friends. We should all be friends. Teamwork. Ohana,” Steve said to Max while staring at Danno. One shoulder went up and down as his face wrinkled with sadness. Max watched the commander’s shoulders, and then imitated the move. Then he imitated Steve’s facial expression as well. 

“Ohana. Teamwork,” Max offered the words. “This personal directive to ‘play well with others’ helped you survive on your SEALIE team operations. I understand.” 

“Thanks,” Steve smiled. 

“Now you wish to employ the same tactic with your civilian comrades-in-arms.” 

“Yes.” 

Danno looked back and forth between them, and his brows came together in the middle of his forehead. 

“Max has known who you were all along, hasn’t he?” Danno realized. 

Max’s pupils contracted audibly. His head whipped in a flash towards Danno, like a bloodhound who had caught an unfamiliar and interesting scent. 

“I have worked closely with Commander McGarrett,” Max paused, tilted his head, and continued. “With Steve. Since his return to Hawaii. Governor Denning…” 

“Rest his soul,” Steve interjected. 

“…wanted to be reassured that the commander was physically capable of the demanding tasks which might be laid before him. Why do you wish to ‘rest his soul’? Is the Governor’s intangible spiritual essence not currently at rest?” 

“It’s a phrase,” Steve replied. “A blessing which asks for him to be at peace in death.” 

“Ah,” Max nodded. “In answer to your question, Detective, yes, I have been kept abreast of the Commander’s medical needs, as required by my position. I have monitored his intake of calcium and iron. I recommended a predominantly-vegetarian diet, while urging him to eat enough protein. He should avoid large amounts of sugary and fatty foods, and acidic foods, owing to his family history of heart disease and stomach ulcers. I have even counselled him to find a massage therapist to help with his stiff joints.” 

“You told Chin. You told Kono. You even told Max. But you didn’t tell me?!” Danno exclaimed at McGarrett, who flinched at the tone. 

“Anger. Resentment. Confusion. Steve, what precipitates Detective Williams’ curious response?” Max asked. 

“Danno prides himself on being a great detective. He’s miffed he didn’t figure out who I was sooner. But he did figure me out, so he shouldn’t be embarrassed. Also, Danno is a busybody who thinks he needs to know everything about everybody, all the time.”

“You are attempting to be humorous,” Max decided with a quick smile. 

“I am. I apologize. I shouldn’t tease Danno.”

“No. You should not. I do not think he is happy with this treatment. He is turning an interesting shade of red. You are friends with Detective Williams, are you not?” 

“Yes.”

“Says who?” Danno balked. 

“He addresses you by your given name. By your preferred nickname. That would seem to indicate a bond of friendship. Congratulations.”

“Why?” Danno wondered skeptically. 

“Neither of you has managed to bond in friendship with many other humans since your arrival in Hawaii. It is important to human physical and mental well-being to create and maintain bonds of friendship with those who surround you, who share your interests. You will be good for each other.” 

Steve snorted softly, and drew the zipper down the bag of the deceased attacker they were perched over. 

“We’ll always have Paris,” he rumbled cryptically. 

“We should concentrate on your purpose for being here. Of course. Forgive my curiosity, Commander.” 

“Not at all,” Steve murmured. “You can ask me any question you want. But right now, we’re in sort of a rush. What can you tell me about them?” 

“Did Lieutenant Kelly update you on the radioactive chemical signatures?” 

“Yes,” Steve nodded. 

“On that topic,” Danno interrupted, lifting a finger. Max’s head swung towards him. The android blinked, and added a quick smile which faded back to seriousness a second later. “Are we in danger of radiation poisoning? I mean, are parts going to start falling off me or what? Is my daughter in any danger?” 

“No, Detective Williams. Your parts will not fall off. Your daughter is not in any danger. It may comfort you to know that you are being constantly bombarded with all manner of radiation, all day, every day, from the machinery around you, the solar energy from the sun, the solar units which…” 

“That’s not comforting, Max,” Danno replied grimly as he shook his head. 

“It was not the intensity but the peculiarity of the radioactive isotope which caught my attention,” Max added. 

“Go on,” Steve urged, baring the corpse’s arms for inspection. No tattoos there. He moved on to the next table, the next corpse. No tattoos there either. 

“My databanks indicate that the material used is mined from only one source.” 

“Which is where?” Danno wondered. 

“What are you looking for? Steve?” Max asked, momentarily ignoring Danno’s question.

“Do any of the attackers have this tattoo?” Steve asked, showing his lotus blossom on the android. Max studied Steve’s arm. 

“Yes. Two of them bear a similar marking.” 

“Really?” Steve’s eyes widened. They landed on Danno with surprise. 

“I told you so,” Williams retorted. 

“Who?” Steve asked. 

“Drawer 12 and drawer 13,” Max said. Steve raced to those drawers, pulled out the bodies, and opened their bags far enough to examine their arms, and then their faces. 

"I told you so," Danno repeated. 

"It's not an exact match," Steve decided, looking at their lotus blossom tattoos. He was correct. The design was a slight variation in color and form. But there was no denying the similarities. 

"Close enough," Danno gruffed forcefully, standing beside Steve and taking pictures of the men's faces and ink. 

“We will comb the footage again, from several angles, and find out how many of them have this tattoo,” Steve amended, hands raised in an attempt to placate Danno’s indignation.

“You said Freddie drew the tattoo. Maybe he saw it on another soldier, and liked it. These guys are all former military men, aren’t they?” Danno said. 

“Yes,” Max answered before Steve could answer. 

“Yes,” Steve agreed. 

“Therein lies another mystery, Commander. Steve.” 

“Where was the radioactive material mined, Max?” Danno asked again before Max could divert the conversation off on any tangent. 

“Here. On Hawaii.” 

“So whoever did this is from Hawaii?!” Steve exclaimed. 

“They may not originate on Hawaii, but the material that they used comes from Hawaii, and only Hawaii. It is volcanic in origin, a particular granite from...” 

“Oh, shit,” Steve blanched. 

“What?” Danno demanded. 

“Are they shipping this material around the star systems?” Steve asked Max.

“Yes. Steve. It is mined and shipped to numerous locations.” 

“They’re taking volcanic rocks off Hawaii? You can’t do that!” McGarrett exclaimed angrily. 

“That’s generally what miners do, Babe,” Danno chuckled. 

“Whoever is doing this is not a native Hawaiian,” Steve protested. 

“How do you know?” Danno frowned, arms crossed over his chest. 

“Granny.”

“What about Her?” Danno asked, arms bouncing out straight in front of him. 

Steve touched his forehead with all ten fingertips, then ran them back through his hair in frustration. 

“You wouldn’t know,” he whispered, shaking his head. “If you take volcanic rocks off Hawaii, you will incur Granny’s wrath. Terrible wrath. No native Hawaiian would do this. Who owns this mining operation?!” he demanded of Max. 

Max stared back and forth between Steve and Danny.

“Granny. Tutu. Pele. I see. I am familiar with the curse that you are referencing, Commander. One may not remove the volcanic rocks from Hawaii, because they are sacred to the Goddess of Volcanoes, Fire, and Lightning.”

“It’s like you’re stealing Her bones, Her body parts, Her teeth,” Steve protested. 

“That’s disgusting,” Danno frowned. “I think it’s ridiculous, and it’s disgusting too,” he shivered. 

“No native Hawaiian would do this,” Steve protested. 

“Not every native Hawaiian is religious. Therefore, it is possible,” Danno argued.

“No,” Steve refused to believe. 

“There is more that I would like to tell you about the unfortunate attackers,” Max interrupted politely. 

“What is that?” Danno said.

“Two more things, actually.” 

“What are they?” Steve corrected. 

“Point one. Each of these men were identified by their military ID tattoos, even though efforts were taken to erase the marks. My databanks indicate that some of these men were retired from their branch of the military, while others were declared missing in action, some missing for many years, before appearing here on Hawaii, and dying in the attack on Iolani Palace.” 

Steve’s brow furrowed. 

“They went MIA in combat, only to turn up here?” 

“Yes.” 

“Someone is recruiting retired military -- that makes sense. But how is someone recruiting MIA soldiers?” Danno began.

“Maybe there weren't enough military retirees, and someone is abducting soldiers right off their missions, and forcing them to carry out these attacks,” Steve speculated. 

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Danno grumbled. 

“Why not?” Steve wondered.

“Because you’re a stubborn jackass. I can’t get you to do anything. I could not imagine trying to get several of you to follow orders if you didn’t want to,” Danno laughed. 

“I…” Steve’s mouth dropped open. He found a sly smile. “I come by it honestly,” he retorted, arms crossing over his chest in imitation of Danno’s own stance. 

"That wasn't a compliment," Danno frowned at him. Steve's smile got a bit wider. 

“What’s the second point, Max?” Danno pressured. 

“There were strange inconsistencies in their DNA samples.” 

“Yes?” Danno prodded.

“There is a certain instability in the cores of their cells.” 

“Could the instability have been caused by the high amount of radiation they were exposed to?” Steve asked. 

“It could, I suppose, be due to the high levels of radiation,” Max answered tentatively. “I am not entirely sure. I need more time to investigate.” 

“What are we looking at here?” Danno gulped nervously. 

“Could they be xenomorphs?” Steve asked. “An alien species cloaked in human form to allow freedom of passage in human areas?”

“Meat suits?” Danno shivered, taking a step back from the table. Because not all encounters with alien species had gone well for humans. Not well at all. Humans had adopted an isolationist policy, staying mostly to themselves.

“No,” Max reassured them. “These men are entirely human. Perhaps the most physically fit, well-maintained humans I have seen.”

“Other than the fact they’re dead?” Danno laughed anxiously. 

“True,” Max agreed as Steve swallowed a smile. “Some of the sample cells are aging more rapidly than one would expect.”

“Which samples?” 

“The two men with your tattoo, Commander.” 

“Do they have progeria?” Danno squinted. 

“No. This is not progeria,” Max confirmed. 

“What is it then?” Steve asked. 

“It is a mystery which requires further investigation,” Max decided. 

“All right. Investigate away,” Steve motioned. He spun on one heel, and shot for the exit door, where he turned, faced Max, and put both palms together. “Max? Mahalo,” he said, bowing slightly. 

“Yes. Steve. Mahalo to you as well,” Max imitated the bowing action, his mouth forming another smile. 

“Take it easy, Max,” Danno waved, bouncing backwards out the door into the corridor. 

“What am I to take, Detective?” Max wondered before returning back to his work when he realized the two men were out of earshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:
> 
> 1- A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
> 
> 2- A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
> 
> 3- A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.


	27. Keep Your Eyes On Me

“McGarrett? I… I would never… Sweet Granny! Put me down, man! Are you crazy?”

“Steve…” Danno whispered anxiously as the SEALIE lifted Sang Min off the ground and shoved him up against the brick wall of the alley they were concealed in. The detective pawed at Steve’s back, hoping to get him to let go of the slithery snakehead. In response, Steve growled and lifted Sang Min higher. 

“Tell me why I should believe you!”

“I’d never lie to you. I'm not suicidal,” Sang Min pleaded. His arms flailed around for purchase. His shoes kicked and scraped backwards against the bricks. 

“You’re a human trafficker,” McGarrett accused. 

“Yeah, but...” Sang Min whined. 

“You’re the one people go to…”

“ _Willing people_. People who need to get from here to there without the hassle of papers. I do not abduct people. Man, that is not my thing.” 

“Steve, if you kill him, he can’t tell us what he knows,” Danno cautioned. “Put him down, and stop choking him,” Danno pleaded, putting his hands up the taller man’s arms, tugging gently but firmly. 

McGarrett dropped Sang Min roughly to the ground, and went for his laser pistol. Danno dodged back. 

“Steve!” he yelped. 

“Hey, now! Wait! Whoa! McGarrett,” Sang Min squirmed, rising slowly up to his feet, wiping the trail of blood from his nose. “McGarrett?!”

“These men were taken against their will, and turned against the people they were supposed to protect. I want to know what you know, and I want to know now,” McGarrett snarled. With a flick of his right thumb, he readied the laser for action. 

“I don’t deal in kidnapping, man. How many times do I have to tell you?” Sang Min was in full panic mode. But who wouldn’t be? 

“Maybe you’ve heard something?” Danno prompted anxiously. Steve’s face was feral and determined. 

“Maybe?” Sang Min fretted, eyes darting back and forth between Danno and Steve. He was watching both ends of the alley too. Should he dare to call for help? Would anyone respond? 

“Start talking, or I start cooking you, one inch at a time,” Steve threatened. 

“Maybe I heard about a pair of brothers… Maybe?” the smaller man peeped, nervously licking his lips, eyes darting around into the shadows. “Not here. I can’t tell you here.” 

A thin bolt of green hissed in the near-darkness, making a hole right through the edge of Sang Min’s cape. He bellowed and dodged sideways, throwing his arms and legs all aloft for a nanosecond as he recoiled from the shot. 

“Steve!” Danno yelled. 

“I am not fucking around with you, hupo,” Steve rumbled.

“Hesse! Victor and Anton! They do that shit!” Sang Min wailed. 

“What kind of shit?!” Steve growled, giving the pistol another flick with his thumb. He was ratcheting up the intensity of the shot. 

“They have a whole network going, snatching people here and there.”

“What kind of people?” Danno demanded.

“People nobody gonna notice missing. You understand?” 

“Convenient to blame them. You know as well as we do that both the Hesse brothers are dead,” Danno interjected. He was disappointed that it wasn’t a better lead. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Sang Min promised. 

“Victor and Anton? They smuggled humans, drugs, and guns as well. Tell me something I don't already know. What else have you heard?” Steve demanded. 

“You should go investigate their network of contacts, instead of hassling an honest, hard-working citizen like me,” Sang Min retorted. “Throwing your weight around, thinking you can do whatever the hell you want to people?” 

“But I can do whatever the hell I want,” Steve menaced. “You get me? The governor wants this solved, and she wants those who did this held responsible. I have full immunity and means.”

“You can't jack up people who didn’t have anything to do with it,” Sang Min defended. 

“You cross me, I will kill you,” McGarrett thundered. “Ain’t nobody gonna miss you. Ain’t nobody gonna say a thing about it either.”

“Witnesses saw me walk back here with you two,” Sang Min insisted. 

“You think they’re gonna talk when they see what’s left of you?” Steve wondered with a dreadful, serious face. 

“You might take a few pointers from your sister when it comes to questioning CI’s,” Sang Min countered. Steve was putting away his pistol, when his brow furrowed with actual offense. 

“I'm not here to make friends. I’m not going to coddle you. We’re talking about fellow soldiers here. If you had any part in what happened to these men, I will make you pay. I won’t stroke your ego, or butter you up to get you to talk to me. You’ll either tell me what I want to know, or I will put you in the deepest, darkest hole on this planet.” 

“I could press charges. Police brutality!” Sang Min warned. Steve moved in, standing right up against the smaller man, chest in his face. 

“You could,” McGarrett agreed. “I’d hate to think what might happen to you if you did though. I’d hate to think what might happen to your family too.” 

“Steve,” Danno chided again. “That’s enough.” 

He physically hauled Steve back, one arm around his waist, one hand clutching his wrinkled teeshirt.

“Check out the Hesse Brothers’ network. That’s all I can tell you,” Sang Min babbled, adjusting his robes, smoothing down his hair. 

“ ‘Kay, Babe. You made your point. You’re a dangerous bad-ass, and you’ll do whatever it takes to get to the truth. I’m convinced. Sang Min is convinced. Aren’t you?” Danno shot the other man a warning stare. 

“Yeah, brah. I’m convinced. Convinced you need professional help,” the snakehead agreed with a short, scared laugh. 

“This better check out,” Steve hissed. 

“You need a blessing, Koa. Soon. Need to ask a priest to throw some sea water and coconut juice on you. Banish those demons for you,” Sang Min added. 

McGarrett made an attempt to snatch at Sang Min around Danno, both sides at once. Danno used his entire body to block those grabbing arms. He pushed Steve against the opposite brick wall of the alley, getting up his face while standing chest to chest in front of him. Sang Min took off like a shot, disappearing into the darkness, robes billowing like sails on an ancient ship. 

“What is the matter with you?” Danno whispered. Steve was panting, leaning back against the bricks, chest heaving. He avoided Danno’s questioning stare. 

“You heard what he said. People nobody would notice were gone. It could have been me,” McGarrett replied uneasily. 

“I know you haven't been a law enforcement officer for long, but Police Procedure 101? You don't abuse the source of information. You can’t kill our suspects either. People have rights. Inalienable rights to due process, fair treatment, legal search and seizure, and above all else, the right to not get shot by a hot-tempered, out of control SEALIE with emotional problems!” Williams lectured sternly. 

Steve didn’t reply. He continued to pant, turning his head away, leaning back against the bricks. 

“Buddy, you are officially compromised. I'm pulling you off the case,” Danno decided. He searched around in his pockets, wondering what he did with his percom. 

“No,” Steve insisted. “Danno! I can do this. I need to do this. I can’t stand on the sidelines, and do nothing,” he whispered, licking his lips, shaking his head violently. His eyes were alight with a kind of fear his partner had never seen in him. "Please, Danno. Don't take me off the case. I'll do anything," Steve pleaded.

“You can't beat up our informants. You gotta promise me you’re not going to start dangling people out of the hovercraft or some shit like that. One more chance, Steve. That’s all I’m going to give you. If you reach the point of no return for me, I’m going to relieve you of command in this case. The governor gave me permission. Do you remember?” 

“I remember,” Steve swore, voice softening. “Please, Danno.” 

“I understand that you’re upset because these are fellow soldiers. But if you step out of line, and you tangle this up in litigation because you roughed up the CI, or you threatened the life of a suspect, we’re not going to be able to make any charges stick. No matter how much proof we might have. Am I getting through to you?” 

“Yes," Steve mourned sadly.

“This is not a war zone. This is polite society. There are rules of behavior, rules of process, rules, Steve. Do you understand me? There are rules.” 

“It could have been me,” McGarrett repeated. 

“All right,” Danno murmured, hands rubbing down Steve’s chest, landing on his sides. “It’s going to be okay. You pull yourself in check. We’ll get these bastards. Let's check in with Chin and Kono. And we need to get a lead on this chemical isotope. Scanning the people at the party. Remember?” 

“I remember,” Steve nodded, eyes glazed as he stared into the distance, as though the shadows had started approaching. 

“Maybe some food would help? A bit of sleep too? Hmm? You wanna go back to your house?” Danno offered.

“No,” Steve refused anxiously. “You can’t take me off this case, Danno. You can’t. You just can’t.” 

“You better color inside the lines then,” Danno warned. “You sure you don’t want to go back to your house?” 

“No,” Steve swore, refusing again. 

Danno had to agree. Being in that house only served to upset Steve further, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Too many ghosts there. Was this 'fight or flight' he was seeing in Steve's panicked eyes? Worried the SEALIE might take off, go further underground than ever before, Danno kept a gentle hand on Steve’s arm while opening a communications line with Chin. 

“Hey, Chin, buddy. How’s it hanging?” 

Danno could almost see the vaguely-appalled expression that must have been on Kelly’s face. He tried out a smile, not that Chin could see it. 

“Fine.”

“Any progress?” 

“Aside from the straggler or two, we’ve scanned all the people who were at the party, under the pretense that we were administering a preventative inoculation for the radiation that was released.” 

“Oh. Nice gambit. And?” 

“Nobody exhibited the kind of readings we were hoping for,” Chin reported. “What about you and Steve?” 

“We got a thin lead, but not much of one,” Danno admitted. 

“You all right?” Chin worried. 

“We’re okay,” Danno lied with a transparent laugh. 

"What did Steve do this time?" Chin asked. Steve heard him, and turned into a disgruntled eagle, brows crunched down front over the bridge of his nose. Danno rubbed Steve’s arm to soothe his temper. McGarrett pulled his long braid around front, toying with the rough edges. He pulled off the metal detonator, and smoothed his disarrayed locks. 

"Nothing. I've got the big SEALIE eating out of my hand. It's all good," Danno replied to Chin's question. Steve raised a brow, his face sour and amused at once. 

“I’ve put out notices for the people we haven’t reached yet. Sent out HPD teams to try and locate them. There’s nothing more we can do tonight. Or should I say this morning?” Chin chuckled. 

Danno glanced at his chronometer. 1:18 a.m.

“Why don’t you and Kono turn in for the night? We’ll pick this up again in the morning,” Danno suggested. 

“Right. There really isn’t anything else we can do tonight. We’ll regroup in the morning, and hope for overnight developments," Chin rambled sleepily. 

“Great idea,” Danno agreed. 

“Take care, Jersey. Say hello to Steve.”

Chin disconnected the line. Danno put away his percom, and studied Steve’s serious face. McGarrett seemed more calm. At least he wasn’t panting in panic and anger. 

“Chin says hey," Danno reported.

“Hey,” Steve echoed numbly. 

Danno understood. The artificial calm was back. McGarrett had gone as cold as an airlock sucked clean of oxygen. Williams wasn’t going to get any more reaction out of him as long as he had those walls in place.

“I need a drink. I need some food. What about you?” Danno asked, straightening the hem of Steve’s rumbled shirt. There was a spray of blood from Sang Min across the front.

“Yes. Food. Drink. R and R. The basic necessities should be looked after,” Steve agreed. He sounded like an automaton. He was walking out of the alley, long strides like a stern drumbeat in the night. 

“Where are we headed?” Danno asked, struggling to keep up. 

“I know a place close by,” Steve replied. 

“Okay. The food any good?” 

“Uh huh,” Steve answered. 

“Do we need the car?” Danno wondered as they walked up to the old hovercraft. Steve’s hand slid gently along the side of the vehicle, like he was stroking the flanks of a favorite horse. There were three parking tickets attached to the wind screen. Danno snorted as Steve took them off, and stuffed them in a cargo pocket. 

“Nope. We can walk there,” McGarrett promised. He popped open a storage unit on the hovercraft, and left his pistol in the box. He also removed his cape and his cloth bag, leaving them there as well. He took off his teeshirt, balled it up tightly and neatly, and tucked it inside the box as well. 

He reached for his belt, and Danno’s eyes bugged out. 

“You gotta do that here?” Williams yelped. 

Steve pulled his feet out of his combat boots, and down went his pants. His butt was straight up in the air, like a stretching feline. Danno spun around nervously with a chipmunk laugh. He turned away. He turned back. He rubbed his hair, and scrubbed his face in disbelief. He bristled with annoyance at the trio of ladies who walked past, eyes up and down Steve’s practically-naked body. One whistled loudly, and gave McGarrett a coy wink. 

“Move along, move along,” Danno ordered, coming around the side of the vehicle. 

Williams stood with his back to Steve, holding out the sides of his ceremonial robes in imitation of a giant bat. The trio of young ladies waved at them both. Danno glanced back over one shoulder to see that McGarrett was pulling on a clean pair of pants. The SEALIE was giving the three ladies a brilliant smile over Danno’s outstretched arm. 

“You're an animal,” Danno barked. He got an elbow in the side as Steve pulled on a clean shirt. 

“Done,” Steve whispered against the back of Danno’s neck. Williams shuddered, dropped his arms, and whirled around. The SEALIE was bending over from the waist, pulling his boots on again, and lacing up the uneven laces. 

_Those thighs. That ass. Oh my word._

“Where are we headed?” Danno demanded, shaking himself, trying to stop staring at Steve's body. 

“Lola’s,” Steve replied, already two strides ahead of Danno. 

"Who the hell is Lola?" Danno bristled, picturing another mistake like Lieutenant Rollins. Steve smiled enigmatically, and his strides got longer.


	28. R and R

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Advanced warning for a wee bit of cross-dressing, harsh language, and consensual roughness.

Steve strung Danno along as if on a leash. Danno followed out of concern and curiosity both. They strode with determination past the milling crowds of tourists and locals lining up for a good time out in the dance clubs and drinking establishments. No one was going to let a paramilitary attack, or the ominous presence of troops on patrol, dampen their fun. The theatre district and the museums weren’t too far away. There were scores of restaurants which tantalized with sights and sounds and smells. But Steve kept on going, and Danno kept on following. 

The unusually-jagged skyline was jarring – the destroyed waterfront hotels were being rebuilt, but at this hour, those worksites were silent for the night. Danno may have felt a pang of sympathy for Stan Edwards, knowing all that he had lost. But it was only a tiny twinge. Mostly he was feeling good because the gods were punting someone else around besides him for a change. 

Steve led Danno to a side street which appeared void of all life at first glance. A couple of randy cats went chasing past, and a shy tropical snake which eased down the side of the building, nosed at a potted flower, and vanished again. The ground felt alive with a mysterious heartbeat. Danno would have thought the building was an innocent group of rowhouses, but that would have been too strange to find in close proximity to so much other nightlife. This real estate must have been blood-dripping expensive. 

Iolani Palace was awhirl with activity barely six blocks away, up the hill which overlooked the city itself. The glorious structure was beginning to look like herself again -- regal and beautiful and ornate. Repairs were in progress there, even at this early hour. Steve glanced towards the palace as a group of military hovercrafts whistled overhead for a careful landing on the rooftop. He smiled warmly and nodded his approval, whispering their make and model with an appreciative hum. Danno chortled softly to himself. Leave it to McGarrett to get all warm and tingly while admiring military transport vehicles. 

Steve stopped at an arched doorway, and caressed a decorative keypad which was shaped like an upright banana flanked on either side by furry coconuts. Danno did a double-take and wondered at the significance of the shape as the door opened wide, on real hinges. Whoa. Very old school there. 

A tan-skinned native woman in a flowing, transparent gown blocked the entrance. She smiled languidly, edging one muscular leg an inch or two outside, arms crossed over her flat chest. His flat chest? Danno squinted in the bad light. Something wasn’t quite right, but Danno couldn’t but his finger on what at first. Her impressive leg was cloaked in a blue leather boot which went up, up, up, like rising sea water. The tops of the boots pooled over into heavy cuffs at the crotch. Williams got a tempting glimpse of tight leather briefs before Steve spoke and distracted him. 

“Leilani? How’s it hanging?” Steve gushed in an imitation of Danno's own accent, echoing the greeting Williams had used with Chin minutes ago. 

“Doggie? Good to see you!”

The unusual timbre of the other person’s voice made Danno’s eyes dart from Steve’s face back to the blue leather briefs. Although the robe said female, the briefs said male. Leilani was packing some serious heat. The voice was too deep for a woman, but the gorgeous face said woman all the way. The luscious flower in the midnight-black hair said woman. But the bare chest, pecs, and shoulders were saying man. Williams was suddenly confused and aroused, unsure how to react, and nervous he would disappoint Leilani for some odd reason.

The stranger stared Steve up and down with a sly grin. 

“Buying or selling?” 

Danno’s jaw dropped. He may have meeped out loud. His eyes went back to the security keypad. Now that it was lit-up, he could clearly see that it was not a banana and coconuts. It was a male phallic symbol. His brain raced through a series of assumptions and arrived at the only possible conclusion – Steve had brought him to a brothel?! 

“Buying,” Steve retorted. He wasn’t defensive so much as embarrassed. 

“Too bad,” Leilani hummed as she traced a fingertip down Steve’s chest. “We’d be rolling naked in money.” 

“Tempting,” Steve lied. His face was warming with mischief and embarrassment both. 

“I’d even go high with you – sixty-four?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.” 

“I bet you are,” Leilani chuckled. 

“I don’t think the Governor would take kindly to me hooking on the side,” Steve offered. 

Leilani sighed dramatically. “Let me know if you change your mind.” 

Steve replied a tiny chuckle, tucking his head down to his chest bashfully before lifting it again. 

“What can I do for you tonight, precious?” 

“Need a place to crash,” Steve said tentatively. 

Leilani’s golden brown eyes traced over Danno. 

“Two guests?” she asked with a flicker of amusement. 

“Two guests,” Steve replied. 

“You picked up a surf buddy, Steve? I'm so proud of you!” 

“Why does everyone keep asking that?” Danno wondered at Steve, who shrugged helplessly. 

“What happened to Not-My-Girlfriend?” 

“Why does everyone keep asking _that_?” Danno repeated, eyes narrowed. 

“Coin or credit?” Leilani asked, saving Steve from answering. 

“Is credit good?” Steve hoped. 

“Come in,” Leilani said, drawing them under the arched doorway in order to close the heavy portal. She reached into a niche beside the door, and came back with a tablet, which she held out flat to Steve. 

McGarrett put his right hand on the dark surface. It turned a dangerous red. 

“Other hand, precious,” Leilani purred. “The system thinks metal means weapon.” 

“Sorry. I forget,” Steve said. He stared at his right hand, wiggled it, and then dropped his left hand on the tablet. The face of the tablet turned green. 

“Who is your friend?” Leilani asked. 

“Leilani, this is Danno,” Steve answered. 

“Danno. You’re not from around here, are you?” 

“What gave it away?” Williams wondered with an impish smirk. 

Leilani glanced Danno up and down appreciatively even while taking Steve by the hips. Leilani pushed Steve up against the wall of the foyer, and kicked a foot between his combat boots. 

“Spread for me,” she ordered. Her hands slid down Steve’s extended arms, up his sides, around his front, finally over his ass, down between his cheeks, slowly down his thighs. Danno had shared less physical intimacy in serious, long-term relationships. Leilani's hands were all over Steve's pliant body in a way that made Danno edgy and possessive. Steve's legs moved further apart. Did he have to offer that delicious ass up for inspection so willingly? Wlliams really wished he could wipe the goofy smile off McGarrett's face. 

McGarrett was quivering as Lelani's hands came back up and rested possessively on his hips.

“No weapons?" she demanded skeptically

"Nope," Steve lied. 

"Where’s your hidden stash?"

"No stash," Steve grunted.

"You bucking for a cavity search tonight, Big Boy?” Leilani barked, cupping half of Steve's ass in one strong hand. 

“I left my laser pistol in the car,” McGarrett reported. “And you're gonna buy me a drink and blow in my ear if you’re going back for a second search.” 

Leilani dropped a kiss to the back of Steve’s neck. McGarrett laughed shyly. 

“Don’t try that on Danno. He’ll punch your lights out,” Steve warned as Leilani spun and smiled ferociously at Danno. She took one step in his direction, and Williams pulled out his badge. 

“Oh, dear,” Leilani pouted as she stopped short. “Official business?” 

“Danno, put that away. You said R and R tonight,” Steve insisted. 

“He’ll have to surrender his police weapon,” Leilani frowned. Steve wiggled his fingers at Danno, palm up, waiting. Williams tucked his badge away, and reluctantly took out his hand weapon. Steve gave the sidearm to Leilani. 

“We can get it back in the morning,” Steve reassured Danno when the detective rumbled a syllable or two of complaint. 

“Public room or private room?” Leilani asked, motioning for them to follow. She tapped a code into a keypad, and the next security door slid open to reveal scores of curious eyes watching from around a brightly-lit lounge. Danno and Steve followed Leilani under another arched doorframe. There was music and noise, and people milling around. The place was sound-proofed to the Nth degree. The room was a mixed crowd of revelers, everyone having a good time, which made Danno nostalgic for his wild youth. 

Steve turned to Danno for the answer to Leilani’s question, and teased him with a smirk when he caught his partner watching the beautiful proprietress. She or he was utterly hypnotic, and not just for the killer body. A complex seascape was tattooed across both shoulders and down her back, visible now in the lighted lounge where it hadn’t been in the dark foyer. Sea creatures of every assortment were swimming around a coral reef. A golden starfish danced on her left hip with each step. An octopus undulated on her right hip. Danno shook himself to clear his head. Maybe he would have enjoyed that pat-down as much as Steve clearly had? 

“Public or private?” Leilani asked again. 

“No witnesses,” Danno gulped. 

Leilani chortled, teeth bared, one hand splayed on her chest. His chest? Danno was utterly confused. 

“Great Goddess, you are adorable,” she mused. 

Steve ordered drinks from the bar, remembering to put his left hand on the payment tablet this time. He moved in time with the music while waiting for the busy bartender, attracting the attention of both people on either side. McGarrett pushed one of the coconut-shaped cups into Danno’s grip, sipping from his own fruit-bedecked concoction. Leilani motioned into the air with one hand, and a young attendant appeared. Keys were laid out on the tray which he presented. 

“Your choice,” Steve said to Danno, who stared at the three offerings, unsure which to choose. McGarrett pulled the wedge of pineapple off his drink, and took a huge bite, swallowed quickly, and then spoke. “The colors correspond to the different levels. Blue, first floor. Green, second floor. Red, third floor. All the rooms face the lounge. Red is the most private,” he explained patiently. This wasn’t his first time here, it would seem. 

Danno’s eyes went up the center of the circular building. The original interior had been hollowed out, leaving the rowhouse superstructure around. This concealed establishment had been constructed inside the remains. The roof overhead was transparent. Stars and city lights were visible. There were ornate balconies all around, attached to private spaces with a view of the floor below and the sky above. Denizens were peering down from several of the suites – people of all persuasions and creeds in various states of undress or not. Some were partaking of food and drink. Others were partaking of each other. 

“Red,” Danno murmured. 

Williams craved privacy right now. The crowd had been inviting at first, but now it was too close, too much. It was funny how Steve had been the tense and angry one only minutes ago, but now Danno was nervous as hell, wound up tight. McGarrett was bouncing and moving with the music even while standing in place, awaiting direction. The decision had been made to relax for the night, and that’s what Steve was going to do. He took the order for R and R as seriously as a rescue extraction, or a search and kill op. The trio wound their way up a metal staircase. Danno’s knee was starting to ache a little, but he didn’t mind so much. He stayed behind Leilani and Steve, and enjoyed the view immensely. It was all Danno could do not to reach out and touch them both. They reached the third floor far too soon. 

Danno was comparing the similarity in strides between Leilani and Steve. It struck him how the two of them fell into an eerie and unconscious synchronicity as Leilani led the way to the correct suite. Leilani and Steve paused in the hallway, turned in opposite directions, and checked for any signs of danger. 

No doubt about it. Leilani was ex-military. Danno would not have been surprised if she had been a SEALIE too at some point. He did his best to examine her biceps for a military tattoo and ID. 

Bloody hell. Right there. How had he missed that before? Leilani had the same anchor and trident that Steve had. Hers had been re-imagined as a continuation of the seascape from her back. A floating, dangling chain around her bicep held the anchor in place. The ID numbers had been incorporated into a piece of parchment, like an old map. Leilani caught Danno staring, and admonished him with a stern glance. 

“Your friend is far too curious, Steven,” Leilani murmured unhappily. Steve reached over and popped Danno in the back of the head, giving him the hairy eyebrow. Danno responded with a sharp jab to the ribs. 

The proprietress unlocked the suite, and darted her head inside first. Then and only then did she motion Steve and Danno to follow. Now that they were in private, Leilani landed a more familiar greeting on Steve. It was a guy-to-guy hug – they bounced their chests together at a vague angle, and roughly patted the other guy’s back, but stayed complete apart everywhere below the mid-riff. Danno chuckled inwardly at the awkwardness of the embrace, and at the explicit masculinity of it. 

“How is it really?” Steve wondered, pulling back again, finishing his fruity drink. He bit into the orange slice. Leilani took the cup away from him, and gave him a rough shove in the shoulder. 

“R and R? I know you better, Doggie. I can tell when you’re on a mission, and I know you don’t stop until the job is done.”

“Tonight is about R and R, but we are working on the attack on Iolani Palace. Getting nowhere fast. Every time I think we’ve got a lead, we fall flat,” Steve admitted. “Have you heard anything around? If you can help, I’d be grateful,” Steve said, hands up, palms together, bowing slightly to Leilani as he had bowed to Max. 

“Weird shit has been going down,” Leilani lamented. 

“What kind of weird shit?” Steve asked. 

“People coming and going, coming back again. I don’t know if it’s connected to the attack on the palace and the waterfront, but some of my regulars have been disappearing without explanation, and reappearing later. Thought I was going to have to pull out my combat boots, and go kick some ass, you know? You too. I was worried that something bad had happened to you because I hadn’t seen you in a while. But then I saw you on the news with the new Governor.” 

“Task Force,” Steve said sheepishly. 

“Look at you. All proper and official again,” Leilani teased, poking him in the arm. “Where are you hiding your badge?” 

“You were all over it earlier, Fast Hands,” Steve replied playfully. 

“I’ve seen Lonestar. Thought he went back home to Texas? Anyhow. He came by for a drink and a chat. Wasn’t interested in anything else, which I thought was mighty peculiar for a guy who used to hump and marry anything with a pulse. Thought maybe he had been turned into one of the 'pod people' I've been encountering.”

“He hasn’t been the same since he got injured,” Steve said as he hung his head in quiet reverence. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’ve got one word for you,” Steve whispered, looking side to side, then down at his lap. “Detachable.” 

Leilani’s forehead furrowed, and then her mouth fell open. 

“Shit! Seriously? I knew he had to get prosthetic legs, but… everything?” 

Steve nodded, looking slightly terrified. “You can’t say anything. He wouldn’t want anyone to know.” 

“Shit…” Leilani whistled. “I won’t tell anyone. Poor bastard. I’m gonna have to pull him aside, and give him some special treatment next time I see him.”

“He wouldn’t want his private business spread around,” Steve cautioned again. 

“Baby, I’m a professional. Leave him to me. I deal with these kinds of issues all the time. More than three-quarters of my clientele is military boys.” 

“Okay… But…” Steve protested softly. 

“I was worried, like I said, because I hadn’t seen you. But then I caught you on the news the morning after the attack, and figured you were okay if you were blowing shit up again,” Leilani laughed. 

Steve protested, but Leilani cut him off with an affectionate laugh. 

“Don’t deny it. Your day is not complete until you’ve created a pile of burning rubble. You would blow stuff up every day if someone let you. I know you. Don’t I know you? By the way, Danno, don’t ever let him drive your hovercraft. He wrecks every damned vehicle he touches.”

“Really?” Danno interjected with a shark-faced smirk. 

“That’s a slight exaggeration,” Steve defended. Leilani arched one brow and smiled viciously. “You mentioned you thought some of your regulars were disappearing, but then they were reappearing??” 

McGarrett wanted to steer his friend back on track. Leilani walked around a long settee to the balcony opening, sliding a hand along a hidden panel. A shimmering curtain of light was visible for a second or two, and then a solid wall materialized, sealing the room with a skoosh which lifted loose strands of her long hair. 

“ 'Pod people'. I'm telling you. All I know is what I’ve seen. People are vanishing inexplicably. When and if they do reappear, they are not themselves. I don’t know how to explain it. You must think I’m crazy.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy at all,” Steve promised. 

“Troops I served with, through blood, sweat, and tears. They will walk right past me on the street, and not say a word. Regular customers – I get to know their likes and dislikes. Their dirty secrets. Their guilty pleasures. But they will come in for a drink, and they’re different. Creepy. Fish out of water. Cold eyes. It’s weird, Doggie. Very weird,” Leilani lamented.

“Could someone be brainwashing them?” Steve wondered. 

“I don’t know, precious, but it’s fucking creepy,” Leilani confided as she strode to the ornate decanter and shot glasses displayed in a niche by the huge bed. “Name your poison,” she offered, lifting the empty decanter. 

“I need to keep my head about me,” Steve said as he shook his head politely. 

“What about you, sweetheart?” Leilani asked of Danno. 

“Same as Steve,” Danno replied. He nursed his one drink from downstairs, sipping nervously at it. Nudging his way around the pineapple slice which mocked him viciously. 

“I’ll bring back some juice then,” Leilani insisted. 

“Anything but pineapple,” Steve pleaded. 

Leilani vanished out the door with Steve’s glass and the decanter in tow. Danno faced Steve with a quizzical expression. 

“I can see the questions whirling around inside your head,” McGarrett mused. 

Steve got the words out as Danno sputtered, hands motioning towards where Leilani had been. 

“What…” Danno wondered. 

“Don’t talk bad about Leilani. I will kick your ass. And she will too. She’s a skilled pilot, and a hand-to-hand combat specialist. She could kill you with single blow.” 

“I bet he could,” Danno grinned. 

“Don’t make me kick your ass,” Steve said with a grim frown.

“What… why… why are you stripping?” Danno sputtered as Steve began peeling slowly out of his clothes. All questions about Leilani had been forgotten. McGarrett folded his shirt and put it on top of the tall dresser along the back wall, tucking his boots beside the decorative furniture. 

“If anyone else comes back, I don’t want them to be suspicious,” McGarrett shrugged, dropping his pants and briefs, and folding them neatly too. He vanished in the direction of the bathroom, bare ass shining like moonlight. He returned with a pair of silken robes. He pulled on the aquamarine one, and handed the scarlet one to Danno. 

“Steve?” Danno whispered nervously, clutching his drink in one hand and the scarlet silk in the other. Steve’s hit him about mid-thigh, just about long enough to hide the bottom curves of his backside, but short enough to draw attention to his strong thighs. 

“In deference to your aversion to nudity,” McGarrett tormented playfully, making a show of tucking the robe together and tying it closed. “You can have the bed. I’ll take the divan.” 

“It’s a settee,” Danno corrected. 

“Whatever,” Steve sighed. He opened the front wall again, and the revelry below swamped the suite. He sat on the settee, and turned away from Danno to allow him privacy to change. Williams emptied his drink, put down the glass, and began to undress. 

The door hissed open silently. Steve was up off the settee, weapon in his grip. He maneuvered himself between Danno and the opened door. Danno had a concealed weapon in hand as well. His pants landed around his ankles with a jingle-jangle of his belt. Leilani was shaking her head at the two of them. 

“Number one – I brought some coconut water. Number two – give me those lasers, you shifty shits. You know the rules, Doggie. All weapons are surrendered at the door. Shame on you for lying to me. I spent every single shell I earned last year on the most recent renovations, after a bunch of Navy recruits got a bit too wild one night and shot my place up. I am not going through that again. Don’t make me hurt you.” 

“Sorry, Leilani,” Steve mumbled, giving her his weapon. Danno pulled up his pants, and relinquished his second weapon. It was nothing more than a peashooter, but it had saved his life in a pinch before. 

“You two mind your manners while you’re here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the boys echoed as one. 

“I want to talk to you, but I got business to conduct. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be back. In the meantime, I’ll leave you to your own devices. Don’t break anything, or I’ll hurt you.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” the boys echoed again. Leilani tossed a tablet down on the bed, and set the decanter of coconut water in the niche with the ornate glasses. 

“Steven, I should turn you over my knee,” she scolded McGarrett, waving one long finger in his face. Steve eyed that finger hungrily, another goofy grin gracing his face. Leilani sighed impatience and hurried out the door again. Steve snatched up the tablet and returned to the settee, lounging full length. His toes were visible at the low end closest to Danno, and his long braid was draped over the raised far end, and its scrollwork. 

Danno made quick work of removing the rest of his clothes. He was busy folding his ceremonial robes when instinct told him to turn around. Steve’s wide eyes were visible above the angled back of the settee, gleaming with mischief and admiration. A teasing smile disappeared as Steve ducked down under the settee’s edge once more.

“Buddy, don’t be shocked if your ceremonial garb mysteriously disappears,” Steve rambled. 

“What?” Danno replied. He could hear tiny dings and bleeps. Steve was studying whatever was on the tablet that Leilani had tossed down. 

“It ought to be a crime to hide an ass like that,” Steve lamented with a lazy grin. 

“Thanks. I think,” Danno murmured, sliding into the scarlet silk. He felt more silly than sexy. It was like cold water against his skin at first, but warmed almost instantly. He laced the belt tight. His robe hit him just below the knees. He thought briefly that maybe he and Steve should have traded. 

“You don’t have any ink?” McGarrett wondered. 

“As you could clearly tell, no,” Danno laughed uncomfortably. 

“Why not?” Steve wondered in a little boy voice. 

“I just… what? Why do you care?” Williams shrugged. 

“Such an adorable haole. All that lovely furry skin, just begging for some color. We gotta get you some ink, Danno.” 

“Mind your own business. And stop calling me ‘haole’,” Williams scolded. Was he blushing? Why was he blushing? Steve was peeking up over the settee again. The edges of his mouth were curling up with mischief. 

“I don’t mind if you’re a haole. You’re my haole,” Steve added. Danno was hot with embarrassment now. “You stick out like those sunburned tourists on the beach,” McGarrett teased lovingly. “Why you don’t have any ink, brah?” 

“I don’t want any.” 

“Not even a little bit?” 

“Steve…” Danno warned. 

“Come sit down,” Steve invited.

“What did Leilani give you?” 

“Looks like the guest list for the last year. Can you bring my percom?” 

Danno approached Steve’s neat clothes. Was it safe to fumble through lightly? Who knew what kind of shit he might have hidden in all those pockets!? Even though he had changed into different cargo pants, Danno suspected each pair had its own assortment of deadly armaments hidden in the pockets. Danno lifted Steve’s pants by the back loop, and carried them over to him. He held the pants out like a dead animal. McGarrett swung his long legs up. He chortled at Danno, and retrieved his own percom. Danno dropped the pants on the floor. Steve scooped them up and folded them neatly again before putting them back down. 

Danno nervously sat next to McGarrett. Steve put his rough-and-tumble percom on the face of the tablet, and the devices synced together. The faces flashing by from Leilani’s tablet were being compared to open files on Steve’s percom. The faces were of the attackers from the night of the party, and those dead in the morgue. Steve was thoroughly engrossed. All business. No pleasure. Damn it. 

Danno was tired and morose. He was as dedicated to the case as the next man, but there was a point where even he needed a break. He leaned forward, arms resting on the metal and glass railing. He could survey the entire lounge below, but his focus was drawn to the small, raised dais at the back arc of the circle of the building. The lights had been dimmed. The music was low, pumping out a hypnotic beat. You could feel the music as much as you heard it. Although there were couples and groups dancing, most of the rest of the patrons were focused on the dais like Danno was. 

A young man performed a seductive, slow strip tease, swaying and shimmying around to the music. He was moving in a circle around the pedestal in the middle of the dais. Multi-colored lights were tracing his gorgeous body, drawing attention here and there, along his chest, down his ass and thighs as he wiggled and strode around the dais. He leaned on his elbows on the pedestal, and a roar when up through the crowd. He was losing more and more clothes, naked skin glistening in the lights. 

Patrons were sliding credits and coins up on the edge of the stage. The lights along the perimeter dimmed or brightened, depending on who had put the most coinage in view, or who offered the most credits with their handprint. The young man was slithering out of his last bit of extemporaneous clothing. He tossed the slipper off his right foot, and it sailed into the crowd. He was clothed only in a sheer pair of briefs which couldn’t hope to conceal his manhood. Another round of credits was submitted. The left slipper came off, landing in the lap of the man who was smiling wide. 

The older man wiggled a finger at the younger man on stage. The young man approached the winner with a handsome and inviting smile. He knelt down, and offered his hands out in front submissively. The older man took both hands and kissed them appreciatively. He whispered words to the young man as he guided him towards the ring of blue rooms on the first floor. There were wolf whistles, and a wild round of applause. 

The couple vanished from sight, but the dais was not empty for long. The music and spotlights continued to spin around. A young woman had taken the young man’s place. She started the same routine over again, leaning on the pedestal with her hands, shaking her backside at the patrons seductively. Coins and credits were being offered up around the perimeter of the stage once more. 

A tiny chuckle behind Danno caught his attention. Steve slid the joined tablet and percom under the settee, where they continued to beep and chime together, like two birds cooing and wooing. McGarrett shifted forward, resting his elbows on the railing too. 

“She’s pretty,” Steve commented. "If that's what you're after tonight?" he added almost timidly. 

Danno’s eyes slid sideways and dropped right into Steve’s lap. The silken robe slid up Steve’s long thighs, pooling deliciously over his midsection. Danno pulled his eyes out of Steve's crotch, only to find the SEALIE staring him straight in the face. Knowingly. Wantonly. Danno gulped and hurried nervously for the safety of the railing. He watched as back downstairs patrons were sliding astronomical sums up around the perimeter of the stage. As the music continued, Danno was distracted by movement he could see out of the corner of his eye. Steve rose gracefully to his feet, matching his own stride to the thumping, bumping beat of the music from below. He headed for the niche and the coconut juice. The bouncing, swaying stride made that aquamarine silk slide left, right, left. Steve matched his natural swagger to the music, and Danno was helplessly staring again. McGarrett lifted the decanter, and collected two shot glasses. Turned to grin at his partner. Danced back to the settee. Steve poured two shots, and teased one under Danno’s nose. Although he wasn’t a fan of coconut water, Danno accepted the offering. Steve gulped back his shot, and rolled both tiny glasses under the settee like a pair of dice. 

Danno’s gaze went for a second back over the balcony. Whoever she was, she was down to sheer briefs as well, bare breasts glowing and swaying. A shape swayed in front of him, unexpectedly dropping on the floor at his feet. Danno yelped and dodged out of reach, scooting the settee back an inch or two on the carpet. Steve was suddenly right up against Danno, kissing his way down his chest, fingers tickling at the tie of his silken scarlet robe.

“Get your hands off me, you animal,” Williams scolded tenderly, embarrassed that he had been startled. He didn't mean the words, and was glad Steve ignored the admonishment, somewhat. Obediently, Steve’s hands came away. McGarrett made quite the show of lacing his fingers together behind his neck, displaying that chest and shoulders with glee. With the bounce of an eyebrow, he dropped his head in Danno’s lap again. Subtle, he was not.

_Sweet Granny…_

Danno’s knees parted instinctively to either side, making room for the big SEALIE between his legs. Steve was heavier than Danno thought, but not in a bad way. A nose teased his robe open. Teeth snagged at the tie, getting a mouthful of chest hair in the bargain. Steve growled playfully as he tugged the robe tie out of his way. He was tugging at the mouthful of hair but not removing it. The tender tugging had left Danno’s skin tingling. 

Danno’s fingers touched the wet spot unconsciously, craving more. Steve dropped the robe tie on the ground, and began to kiss and lick his way up between Danno’s inner thighs. Danno squirmed and inhaled loudly as Steve’s tongue teased between his balls, and then ran slowly up the length of his cock to the crown. Danno may have cursed under his breath. 

Steve swallowed Danno with the practice of a pro, ducking and bobbing in time to the music from the lounge below. Danno’s fingers curled through Steve’s hair, lacing with his fingers. Danno couldn’t help the noises he was making. His legs went up over those broad shoulders. He arched his hips off the settee as Steve sucked and teased him. Through half-lidded eyes, he watched his length disappearing into that mouth, and it only served to heighten his fever. Danno could feel the music from downstairs in the lounge thumping up through the building, up through the settee, up through his body. But he couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of his pulse in his ears. Steve’s beard stubble was scraping and scratching rhythmically along Danno’s spread thighs, rubbing the tender skin almost raw. McGarrett’s long hair was coming undone again. The detonator and wires thumped the settee a couple times, then dropped to the floor and rolled underneath. Long hair flowed over Danno’s thighs, more pleasant than the silk robe which teased his shoulders as it slid off. 

Danno was close to the edge. Steve hesitated for a second or two to catch his breath, and then continued with gusto. Danno petted Steve’s hair in warning, but the SEALIE wouldn’t let go, sucking even more ardently and expertly. Steve’s nose bumped Danno’s abdomen. Short-nailed fingers dragged his hips, down over his ass. Danno let go of Steve’s wrists, and dragged fingertips through his hair, cooing soft words of praise and encouragement. 

“That’s good. So good. Steve… That’s…” 

He filled the SEALIE’s throat without warning. Steve coughed and gasped but recovered quickly, lifting his head to croak rough words.

“ ‘m so out of practice.” 

Danno lay breathless against the settee, somewhat shocked and feeling nothing but good will towards his partner at the moment. Steve rested against him. Danno was content to pet and stroke the SEALIE. Steve was tucked against Danno’s chest, nosing his neck, breath teasing his skin. Danno opened his eyes when he sensed the presence of another person in the room. Steve hadn’t heard anything. Leilani stood in the doorway, a smirk of amusement warming her face. 

“I can come back,” she offered, tip of her tongue darting out for a second. 

Steve kept his head buried in Danno’s chest, but he flipped a rude hand gesture at Leilani, who laughed out. Danno could only manage a soft grunt, and an embarrassed chuckle. How long had Leilani been standing there?

"So proud of you," she whispered as she vanished again without another word. Danno stroked Steve’s hair. 

“Your Navy buddies don’t know the meaning of personal space, do they?” 

Steve moaned, "Nope." 

“Why don’t you trade me places, and we’ll…” Danno started to offer. 

Steve was a step ahead of him. At the least invitation, he leapt to his feet in one fluid motion. Danno gulped at the sight of Steve hurrying for the bed, dropping his robe along the way. Danno rose on wobbly legs, following close behind. Steve peeked into the nightstand and grinned happily. He took Danno’s hand, and pushed a cold tube into his palm before sliding under the covers. Danno rubbed the unexpected coldness in his grip. He glanced down at this hand, and in the dim room, he could make out the words ‘Mango Tango’ on the tube. 

_At least it isn’t pineapple_ , he mused to himself. 

Steve swam through satin sheets and bedcovers to reach the headboard, pushing pillows out of the way. Danno wasn’t moving fast enough. McGarrett reached back to the other man, tugging on his free hand. Steve climbed up on his knees. He dotted tempting kisses on Danno’s neck and chest. 

“Please?” Steve begged. He was dragging Danno with him into the covers.

“What do you want me to do? What do you like?” Danno wondered. 

"Everything?" Steve rumbled anxious syllables. He lay down on his back, and drew his long legs up on the bed, and let his knees fall to each side with a dramatic sigh. His cock was begging for attention as much as he was. This wasn’t what Danno had been expecting – utter and complete submission from Mr. Control Freak. 

“It’s going to be a few minutes before… you know…” Danno murmured, climbing between those long legs, and getting up on all fours. Williams leaned down to nuzzle Steve’s neck, and McGarrett wrapped seventeen limbs up around him, humming and vibrating with excitement. 

“No worries,” Steve promised, arms lacing up around Danno’s neck. His skin was feverishly warm where Danno nuzzled and caressed, mouth and hands moving over tight muscles. 

“Tell me what you like,” Danno whispered. Steve lifted his head with a faintly annoyed expression. 

“If it’s hard, stroke it.” 

Danno chuckled. Steve yelped when Danno took an unexpected grip on his manhood. 

“It’s not a hovercraft gearshift,” Steve muttered, one forearm balanced over his eyes. Breathless and irritated and turned on was a good look for the SEALIE. Danno couldn’t stop smiling. He poured slick on his hand, and took a more careful grip. Steve groaned and quivered all over. 

“Better?” Danno wondered. 

“Oh, yes,” Steve agreed, teeth chattering. 

“You are all legs,” Danno lamented and appreciated at the same time. He nosed through crisp curls of dark hair. He started to lick the very tip of Steve’s cock when he paused. 

The mixed taste of mango and masculine musk was both intoxicating and overpowering, but that wasn't what had made him stop short. Right under his tongue, another tattoo was stretched the length of the SEALIE’s erect penis – another spear like the one on his right side. Steve took in Danno’s surprised expression with careful amusement. 

“You did not,” Danno gasped. 

McGarrett unleashed a languid smile, lashes shading his mercurial eyes. Danno thumbed along the intricate weapon, rubbing Steve’s cock from tip to stem. He hadn’t seen it before when they were messing around on the divan at the McGarrett house because he hadn’t gotten a good look before Lonestar had interrupted them. Nor when Steve had been strutting around naked in the hotel suite. Because obviously McGarrett had to be erect for anyone to see this tattoo. 

“Didn’t that hurt?” Danno winced. 

“Probably,” Steve gulped the word with a tiny laugh. 

“You don’t remember?” Danno worried. 

“I was on shore leave. My buddies talked me into it. Alcohol may have been a factor.” 

Danno wanted to ask if Freddie had been there, but had a feeling that was going to be a non-starter remark which melted the erection he was admiring. So he did not ask. But he desperately wanted to know. 

“You gotta pick your friends more carefully, Babe,” Danno murmured, feeling protective and sad at the same time. He stroked gently with his tongue along Steve’s length, and the SEALIE pined with pleasure. 

“… Danno…” 

Danno watched Steve’s long fingers clutch the bedsheets as he pushed a slickened digit inside his entrance. Steve’s jaw tightened, and his eyelids fluttered. A tease and a tickle later, and Steve's mouth was forming a perfect O. Danno let go of Steve’s erection long enough to pour more lube. He worked Steve open, caressing and stroking him, preparing him. Two digits made him quiver. Three digits made him buck. His chest reverberated with luxurious groans of pleasure edged with pain. Danno licked and stroked in unison. Steve’s ankles dug into the bed, toes curled as tight as his fingers. He was rutting against Danno’s mouth and fingers, lost in a frenzy, eyes shut tight now. With the tip of his tongue and a twist of his fingers, Danno was making Steve mutter in at least three languages. 

Danno had a sudden thought. He scanned around the room again. The raised edge of the settee with its ornamental scrollwork caught his eyes. He tugged on Steve’s nearest ankle, temporarily breaking through the lustful spell the SEALIE was under. Danno pulled forcefully a second time. Puzzled and anxious, Steve obeyed. Danno caught him by the nape of his neck and pushed him face-down over the curled scrollwork on the settee's raised edge. Steve writhed to find a more comfortable position, and Danno lifted his hips, settling him gently again.

This time, the edge caught Steve in the hips at the perfect angle. His toes were just able to brush the ground. His long thighs were stretched out perfectly. He was utterly helpless and gorgeous like this. Danno wondered if the piece of furniture wasn’t designed exactly for this purpose. Steve snatched at a stray pillow and buried his face in it, holding tight. Danno grabbed those hips in a bruising grip, and pushed his renewed hardness deep inside his partner. Steve cried out, muffling his bellow in the pillow he was clutching. Danno rode Steve harshly, drawing sounds from the SEALIE that Danno had never heard before, even in the best of the trashy novels he read. It was undeniably satisfying in many senses of the word, completely owning the hot-headed man so completely. 

Steve was groaning loudly now, biting beads and sequins and glitter off the decorative pillow. Lost in his own world. Danno tormented him, slamming him faster, faster at first to work him up, then easing back to shallow thrusts which brought Steve back from the edge of release. McGarrett whimpered for more. Danno slid his cock out, and used his fingers again. Teasing and caressing Steve's stretched opening to keep him wanting. Experimenting with which touches where gained the best reactions.

Oh, this was luscious fun. Steve shuddered in response to each measured stroke. He was clearly aching for more. Danno curved his fingers. Gentle strokes against his prostate were making Steve hump the edge of the settee. The introduction of more fingers made Steve slide his legs further apart. Inviting him deeper. Danno couldn’t help but admire the delicious shivers that were coursing through Steve’s stretched back and naked flanks. Part of Danno fantasized about tying Steve spread-eagle to a bed every morning, and putting him through his paces this way. Dominate him. Exhaust him. Own him. Work all that anxiety and tension out of him. Finger-fuck him until he obeyed every single command with one word. Danno was not blind to the way Steve reacted as he worked his pleasure spot with deliberate intent. 

A decorative pillow banged Danno in the head, breaking him out of his daydream. Steve was snarling low and deep. Hazel-blue eyes glowered dangerously over one big shoulder.

Danno took pity, and slid his dripping cock back inside Steve. McGarrett rose up on his elbows, and scrambled backwards the necessary inch to regain his balance. He began to fuck himself desperately against Danno’s length. It was fascinating to watch to say the least. The music of Steve’s beautiful, desperate sounds helped Danno find more energy. He was determined to get the better of the stubborn SEALIE, put him back in his place. He reached down and grabbed Steve’s ankles, pinning him once more. He held Steve helpless against the settee and slow-fucked his partner into blissful nirvana. The SEALIE tensed all over, and then turned into a puddle of loose muscles. Jets of hot liquid were splashing Danno’s legs and the settee, sending Danno over the edge into his second climax. Steve sagged against the settee, breathing harsh and heavy. 

Danno eventually let go of Steve’s ankles. He caressed up his sweaty, messy flanks. Up his sides. Kneaded his badly-bruised hips as he lifted him off the edge of the settee. Kissed up his spine to the nape of his neck. Finally helped him get upright once more. Steve collapsed unevenly on the settee, whining under his breath as he let go of the mangled pillow. Danno stroked and kissed his nipples, nosed his bruised chest, and then his neck. Steve spit out a couple sequins and beads. His mouth was rimmed with glitter stuck in spit.

“You needed that, didn’t you?” Danno asked. Steve didn’t reply. His eyes were glazed with post-coital sleepiness. They settled on Danno, came into focus, and filled with undeniable affection. That was reassuring at least.

"Again?" Steve begged shamelessly. Danno stammered. Steve pulled the robe tie off the ground and held it up invitingly. Danno blinked at him in surprise, and managed enough energy for one last kiss. 

"Sleep for now," Danno murmured. He rolled them over, settling on the settee, pulling Steve close. Steve nestled between Danno’s knees, and was asleep before his head was pillowed against the mounds of ruddy chest hair. Danno kissed the top of Steve’s head, and immediately fell asleep too.


	29. Sweet Ride

Somewhere in the wee early hours, a percom bleated like a wounded sheep. Danno was dreaming of a long wooden table laid out for a feast, with roast mutton and baked potatoes and bread, lots of bread. Fresh bread and ripe fruit were piled in easy reach. Danno was surrounded by a hoard of blond and red and brown soldiers of yore, wearing horned helmets, armed with gleaming swords. The motley crew of pillagers strongly resembled his old ILEF buddies back on Jersey. He put a knee-high boot on the table, stretched back in his chair, and held up his golden horn to be filled with wine. Steve McGarrett appeared by his side, naked except for a thigh holster and combat boots. 

“Mmmph,” McGarrett grunted into the percom in his hand. 

“Steve? Did I wake you?” the percom responded. 

“Someone better be dead or on fire,” the SEALIE rumbled in warning, rubbing his face with one hand. Danno went back to sleep, angry that Steve had not brought him wine. 

Sunlight and shadows woke Danno a short time later. Birds. Cooing tropical birds. Laughter? A flutter of multi-colored wings and feathers. No. It was a hand waving in front of his face. A pair of skinny thighs strolled past his field of vision. A bright grin teased him. 

“Rise and shine, Jersey!” Kono beamed. 

“Steve, I thought I told you not to break our haole,” Chin scolded. 

“I didn’t break him,” McGarrett called back from somewhere else in the suite. If it wasn’t Steve standing there blocking the sunlight, then who was it? 

“He looks broken to me. Did you both sleep on the settee?”

“Why is there glitter all over his chest?” 

“He’s the only haole we have, Steve. You gotta be more careful with him.”

“Yeah, Boss. If you break our haole, where we gonna get a new one?” 

“I never realized before how fucking funny you two are at this hour of the morning,” Steve muttered. Chin and Kono laughed carefully as a big hand gently stroked Danno’s shoulder. “We got a lead, buddy. You up?” 

Danno righted himself, sliding on his robe inside out. Steve strutted around the suite, dressed in yesterday’s clothes clinging to his wet skin. He was dripping water droplets everywhere. Had he already showered? He was brushing his teeth with one hand and combing his hair with his other hand. He stomped into his combat boots, swished his mouth out with coconut water from last night, and he was ready to go. 

Chin and Kono caught Danno watching Steve, and they smiled in unison. Danno sent a dark and foreboding glance at them. 

“Where’s my wine, wench?” Danno asked Steve as McGarrett appeared behind him. 

“Up, up, up,” Steve murmured gently. Danno stretched, and Steve slipped the rumpled dress shirt onto his arms, reaching around his furry belly to button the shirt closed. “We gotta go,” he murmured in Danno’s ear. 

“Grab your pants, Jersey,” Chin scolded.

“Yes, please,” Kono added, following Chin out the door of the suite. They paced in the hallway. 

“It’s open?” Danno said, pointing vaguely in the direction of the balcony wall. 

“Yup,” Steve agreed, carrying a brimming cup of coconut water to him. 

“Open all night?” 

“Yup,” Steve repeated playfully. 

“Oh My God!” Danno bellowed, rising fast to his feet and sloshing coconut water everywhere. Steve recoiled, blinking at him in surprise. Chin and Kono peered inside at him as Danno raced for the keypad and slammed the balcony wall. “All night?” he gasped in a panic. 

“Yup,” Steve laughed. Danno sank back onto the settee. They must have put on quite the show for the revelers downstairs. 

Steve dropped to his hands and knees, retrieving Leilani’s tablet and the shot glasses from under the settee, which was sitting at a strange angle. Sensory memories of last night came pouring back to Danno. Steve draped over the settee. That ass. The noises he was making as Danno teased him. The scent and taste of mangos. 

“Steve, we gotta hit this, now,” Chin stressed. 

Danno buckled his belt, slouching down the steps in zombie mode. Why had no one brought him wine yet? Or coffee? Malasadas? He kept an eye on Steve’s back, mumbling soft complaints. Steve collected their weapons from Leilani and said their goodbyes for now. 

Chin and Kono frog-marched Danno through the silent streets, at least until he was awake enough to wrestle free from them. Steve was on his percom, but not so involved that he didn’t notice Danno start to lag behind everyone else. He reached back, took Danno by one shoulder, then wrapped an arm around him. 

“Yes, ma’am. We’re moving towards the location now. We’ll keep you posted.” 

Steve slipped the percom into a pocket, and stopped for two seconds. Danno realized they were next to McGarrett’s beat-up hovercraft. 

“You can handle her, right?” Steve asked. 

“Yeah, Babe,” Danno nodded, shaking his head to clear the clouds away.

“You know the Blue Parrott Bar?” Steve asked. “It’s at the T-junction of Pua and King.” 

“Great wings,” Danno murmured. Steve reached his long arms inside, turned on the hovercraft with his handprint, and pushed Danno into the driver’s seat. He leaned on his elbows on the side of the craft as Danno got settled. 

“Meet us in ten minutes at the Blue Parrott. I want you to come in low and slow. Be careful though. She stalls if you don’t give her enough gun.”

“If he smells police, Steve, this is going to be over before it starts,” Chin warned, watching with disinterest as Kono was racking up the charge on a laser rifle the size of a battering ram. She tilted the barrel skyward as an unholy glow lit her gleeful face.

“No worries. We got this," Steve promised Chin. Kelly focused on Kono, who was stroking the laser rifle again.

“Cuz, we want to apprehend them, not fry them.” 

“Speak for yourself. They ruined my best party dress.”

“Danno, can we count on you?” Steve asked. 

“I got this,” Danno agreed. Steve playfully scrubbed the entirety of Danno’s face with one big hand and palm, grinning at him before following Chin and Kono away into the early light. Danno assumed that the rough face-wash was Steve’s way of showing affection without planting a sloppy-wet kiss on him in front of the rest of the team. Which, okay, it was way too early in the morning for sloppy-wet anything, and Williams wasn’t sure he was ready to tell Chin and Kono that he had spent the night topping the Kahuna. So Danno endured the rough face-wash with a rumble and a snap, and sent Steve on his way with a smack in the ribs. 

Steve, Chin, and Kono vanished into the shadows, except for the ominous glow from Kono’s ginormous laser rifle. Danno felt the hovercraft hum under his butt as he fished for a pair of goggles in the closest storage box. He figured if the storage box was in reach of the driver’s seat, it was the most likely place to put driving goggles. 

A piece of heavy paper shifted around under his searching fingers. It felt like old photograph paper. He found an ancient pair of goggles. When he pulled out the goggles, the photo came along for the ride. 

The photo had been folded over, creased, and rubbed bare in places. It showed a tiny boy with short dark locks, and a blond man wearing a pair of coveralls smeared with hydraulic fluids. The man was brandishing a sonic screwdriver while under the hood of this very hovercraft. She had once been a beautiful vehicle, shining like a polished sapphire. The little boy was perched on the side of the hood, holding an array of other tools in his small hands. It was obvious how eager the boy was to be helpful. His hazel-blue eyes glowed with affection and admiration for the man in coveralls. Danno pushed the old photo back into the storage compartment, and fought with the goggles. 

‘Steve and his father’, Danno decided. He wrestled the stretched-out band around his head, pulled the goggles over his eyes, and urged the hovercraft forward. It sputtered, lurched, and set off with a discordant whine. He wondered who had taken the picture. He wondered why Steve kept the picture here. He wondered who these goggles belonged to, because he had never once seen Steve wearing a pair while operating a vehicle. He also wondered how the hell this once-beautiful hovercraft had wound up in such terrible condition. Was it his imagination, or was that a scorch-burn pattern on the hood? Phantom flames boiled through the chipped and faded paint, and warped the exterior all around. 

Danno prowled slowly along, tracking Chin, Kono, and Steve as they slinked street to street, ducking into alleys, checking ahead for signs of danger before venturing another path. They encountered a woman opening her shutters. The smell of baking bread and brewing coffee made Danno’s stomach growl. Steve paused, showed her his badge. She vanished inside like a snail into her shell. 

Danno crossed Pua, and watched in curiosity as Steve, Chin, and Kono hurried to their destination. He maneuvered the craft in a careful U, hovering at the corner of Pua and King. The building at the far end of the T junction was a three-story, glass and metal construct. Was it a parking garage, or a hovercraft dealership? 

Hovercraft dealership, Williams decided. It struck Danno as a little humorous, but he wasn’t sure why. Perhaps because he wasn’t entirely awake yet. Why were they hitting a hovercraft dealership at the crack of freaking dawn? 

Wow. That white number in the front window was a pretty, sweet ride. Sleek and shiny, with curves in all the right places. Danno couldn’t help himself. He went on auto pilot, drawn by a force he could not resist. Years melted away, and he was sixteen again, hanging out at the hubs along the Jersey Turnpike, watching expensive cars pulling in for a recharge. Danno pulled Steve’s jalopy around the corner to get a better look. Aw man. The white hovercraft was a newer version of the beloved craft he had paid good coin to alter for Hawaii’s higher environmental standards, only to have someone steal it out of the parking garage his first day on the job and wrap it around one of the rock formations on the beach.

Danno couldn’t help himself. He whistled loudly in appreciation, drawing nearer and nearer. He tugged off the goggles and set them in the passenger seat. As Danno sailed low and slow past the rest of the team, Steve’s right eyebrow twitched and lifted. None of them could believe what they were seeing. 

Danno parked Steve’s craft, left it to hover and whine in place. He crawled out awkwardly, and he plastered himself right up against the window of the hovercraft dealership. Steve, Chin, and Kono scattered like roaches in bright light. Danno smiled dreamily, and caressed the window. 

There was someone standing next to him suddenly, brandishing a laser gun and a flashlight. They were separated by the pane of glass, but he was less than a foot away from Danno. The night guard tapped the window, and Danno focused his eyes on the man’s weapon, and then his face. 

“Hey, buddy. You wanna step back?” the guard murmured, his words audible and visible through the pane. 

“Solar chargers.”

“What?”

“She’s got solar chargers on her fins, man.” 

Danno pointed towards the sleek, glossy dream in the window. 

“Yeah. I know, buddy. Solar chargers on the trunk and the fins. 6000 horses under the hood.”

“Dear… Sweet… Mother… of…” Danno was drooling.

“All leather interiors.” 

“Real leather?” Danno gasped.

“Nah, man. That’s not allowed. But it’s the good fake stuff.” 

“I’m okay with that,” Danno insisted. 

“You gotta wait until eight to get in the showroom,” the guard said. 

“How much is it?” Danno asked. “Lay it on me.” 

“Really, man. I don’t know. I’m not the sales guy.” 

Danno pressed again. “Seats four or six?” 

“Seats six. Plus, it has two square meters of storage in the rear compartment.”

“You could move _bodies_ in a trunk that big,” Danno purred. 

“I guess so,” the guard responded uncomfortably. 

“Aww… man… she’s… she’s beautiful,” Danno gulped. “How much?”

The guard peered out the window at Steve’s hovercraft and smirked.

“More shells than you got, pal.” 

“I’d pay you just to wash her,” Danno purred, stroking the window again.

“The best part is the computer. Navigation systems for the entire planet. Built-in, two-channel, audio-visual percom with a six-system range. You can call your wife and your mistress, at the same time, from the front seat or the back seat.” 

“At the same time?” Danno squealed. 

The guard was about to respond to Danno’s undignified noises, when a movement to his left from inside the building caught his eye. 

“Hey! What the…” 

The guard took off like a shot, chasing after three shadows, one of which was brandishing a longish laser rifle primed to green. Danno blinked in surprise when he recognized the rest of his team racing up the central stairs of the multi-story showroom. How had they gotten inside? Why had they gotten inside? 

As the guard raced past the main desk, he slammed his fist on the computer console. Lights, sirens, and commotion filled the entire building. It was like a ten-piece mariachi band wailed from every floor of the structure. Heaving boots and shadows in black were pounding up the stairs and across the tile floors. 

“Police!” Chin howled. 

“Five-O! Freeze!” Kono interjected. 

Danno fell onto his butt in surprise. He scrambled backwards like a startled crab, prone to the pavement below. The roof slid back, allowing the growing light access to the interior. From inside the showroom, hovercrafts were coming to life of their own accord. Figures dodged right and left around the flabbergasted trio of officers. There were too many to grab them all. Steve got a grip on one of the guys, hauling him down with a move which would have made a rodeo calf-roper proud. 

A jet-black hovercraft rumbled to life, and rocketed past Steve’s head. McGarrett had no choice but to hit the deck to avoid being decapitated. The man he had been holding to the ground rolled free of the SEALIE’s grip, and scrambled up the side of the next craft to pass over. Steve rolled to his feet, pulled his laser, and took shots at several departing vehicles as they charged and darted past him. 

Chin and Kono weren’t having any better luck. Craft after craft fled the upper story of the showroom, peeling off into the streets like so-many runaway comets. Then it happened. The windows on the lower floor of the showroom dropped open, and all the hovercrafts rumbled to life. Automatic start was an awesome feature. Shadowy figures dressed entirely in black from head to foot, faces covered, lurched into these vehicles too. 

“Steve?! No! No!” Chin was shouting. Danno focused on the commotion. A running figure, muscular arms and legs pumping, took a perfect leap off the side of the roof. 

“STEVE!” Danno wailed from down below as he watched in horror. Steve sailed out into nothing, his face a mask of determination. 

A cherry-red hovercraft bolted out of the bottom floor. Steve crashed onto the rear of the craft, and rolled into the back seat, where he immediately began to thrash around, struggling with the man in black who was seated there. A laser gun was knocked over the side. It landed in the backseat of McGarrett’s jalopy with a muffled thump. The power charger leaked energy with a disappointed whine. 

Danno fought for footing, and raced into the dealership through the now-open bottom floor. Chin was yelling into his police radio, demanding backup report to this location at once. Kono was on the roof, taking shots at the departing crafts, nicking and scratching millions of shells worth of vehicles in the process. Chin hauled the guard around the main desk console, threw him into a chair, and pushed a badge in his face.

“Get your boss on the horn! Now!” 

Danno kicked the restraining bolts off the sides of the white hovercraft, and threw himself into the driver’s seat. The guard came up out of the chair to stop him, but Chin pushed the guy back down, getting right up in his face, brandishing the badge once more. The rest was a blur for Danno – strapping on the safety harness and shooting skyward. All Danno could think was that Steve was out there, taking on this massive crew of baddies all on his own. The greedy bastard!

As Williams went past the roof, Kono shouted his name. He darted a glance in her direction. She tossed him a laser pistol. It landed in the passenger seat. Danno reached to his right, but yanked his hand back in surprise. The barrel was fire-hot, and it had left a gun-shaped crease in the faux leather seat. 

Danno blew on his singed fingers, then reached right again, making sure to get the handle in his grip this time. Two buildings were coming straight at him. He flipped the craft at a ninety-degree angle, whistling through the aperture with an inch to spare along the bottom. Emerging from the other side, he searched the skies, the swarm of swirling hovercrafts, eyes scanning for cherry-red. 

There it was! Danno hit the accelerator and shot ahead, clipping the highest antenna off the top of a gray-white blur of a building. A flock of seagulls and a single blue and green parrot squawked at him as they scattered. 

Police vehicles and military vehicles had started to join the chase, interspersing with the runaway hovercrafts at alarming speeds too quick to focus on. It was a little like merging onto the Jersey Turnpike during rush hour, so Danno was not intimidated in the slightest. 

There wasn’t time to worry and wonder at the flood of questions which raced through his brain. Who were these people? Why had they all exited the hovercraft dealership at the sound of the alarm? Why had they been there in the first place? What clue had led Chin and Kono to focus there in the first place? What destination were they racing towards? They had moved with such synchronicity that this escape had to have been practiced until it was second nature, but why? Why would they need such an escape plan in the first place? All of these questions were filed away until later. 

Steve! Where was Steve? All Danno could process with his concern for Steve. He had to find Steve and bring him back to the ground safely.

A life and death struggle was taking place in the cherry-red hovercraft. The rear-seat passenger had Steve pinned down on his back over the seats, hand over his face. He was smashing Steve’s big nose with one palm while banging the SEALIE’s hard head into the craft’s dashboard. Danno raised the laser pistol, and hit the guy in the left shoulder. He couldn’t help but wonder how much it would cost to install laser weapons in the front of this sweet ride. He suddenly hankered for the ability to steer and shoot at the same time. You could put the fire buttons on either side of the steering wheel. It would be so awesome. 

Steve got a leg up, and booted the assailant in the chest, knocking him over backwards onto the rear trunk of the vehicle. The driver was having a difficult time holding the craft steady. The car wobbled wildly as Steve’s assailant rolled deftly upright and leapt for the SEALIE again. McGarrett was holding his own, but then the driver took a hand off the steering column, and grabbed Steve by the back of his belt, yanking him hard backwards down into the front seat again. 

Danno shouted in alarm, and maneuvered alongside the cherry-red craft. He hesitated long enough to acknowledge this was going to cost him an arm and a leg to repair before he rammed the pristine white craft into the side of the other craft. The crunch and grind of metal to metal was sickening. The two crafts slid along, trading twisting, winding streaks of color on each other’s sides. 

“STEVE!” Danno shouted. McGarrett had time to cock an eye at Danno before swinging the next punch. The rear seat passenger hauled Steve down into the back seat. McGarrett left a streak of red along the white interior of the craft. Had he cracked his head on the dashboard? The two men rolled up, biting and scratching at one another like wild dogs in the desert fighting over a single bone. 

The other guy was getting the better of Steve, pushing his head, then his shoulders, then his back along the edge, maneuvering the SEALIE’s body out of the vehicle all together. Danno went right, scraping the cherry-red craft without mercy, slipping partially underneath. 

Steve fell from the cherry-red craft with an angry, frustrated wail, hands dragging bloody streaks down the sides. He landed awkwardly in the front seat of the white craft, right on top of Danno, kicking and wailing until he was upright. Why was he slamming his fist into Danno’s safety harness latch?!

Danno felt wet from face to chest, and knew instinctively that he was smeared with Steve’s blood. They wrestled around one another in a surprisingly-coordinated effort to trade places. Steve pushed him bodily into the passenger side, and wrestled with the steering column. Danno snapped into the passenger safety harness, and then reached over to click the driver’s safety harness into place around the angry SEALIE. 

“Shoot them, goddamn it!” Steve howled. Danno gave him a warning swipe across on cheek, leaving a smear of red in reply. The horizontal wound on the back of Steve’s skull was trickling gore down his neck and back, all over the once-pristine car. 

Danno levelled the laser pistol, and took shots at the disappearing cherry-red hovercraft. Aloha Oahu was racing towards them. The gigantic spaceport had a constant stream of craft traffic, both big and small, all times of the day and night. The swarm of hovercrafts which had eluded Five-O and the police and the military were melting into the spaceport traffic, vanishing from sight. In seconds, they would be impossible to distinguish from the other crafts. 

“They’re getting away!” Steve complained. He had both hands on the steering column, both boots planted on the accelerator pad in the floorboard. The white craft streaked ahead like a diving bird, corkscrewing around the main tower at the spaceport. The cherry-red craft was attempting to rise the column of the tower and head out into the atmosphere. 

“Steve, we can’t,” Danno warned. 

“They’re getting away,” Steve repeated petulantly. 

“These engines are not built for that kind of escape velocity,” Danno warned again. “Pull back, Steve. Pull back!”

Williams had a hand on Steve’s forearm, tugging tenderly on him. McGarrett reluctantly eased back on the throttle, and the white hovercraft gulped audibly, shuddering before its engines sparked. The white craft dropped back down to the height of the tower, maneuvering sloppily onto the launching pad, clipping an antenna as they set down ass-backwards and sideways too. 

The cherry-red craft continued rising up into the clouds. Danno knew what would happen. Their engines would stall as air got too thin. There was a weird rumble shaking the sky. Steve was watching the clouds, and then suddenly he was watching the top of the tower. A wavering shadow loomed out of nowhere. Steve shrieked in alarm, a sound which caught Danno off-guard to say the least. The SEALIE threw himself over Danno, dragging them both down into the vehicle as far as he could possibly push them. 

At first Danno thought Steve was retaliating physically because Williams had prevented him from following the escaping craft. Then the rumble grew louder, like a section of tubas humming the lowest bass note at the same time. The very air shook. Danno’s eardrums ached. His intestines quivered. Darkness pitched over them, the tower, and the battered hovercraft. 

Sparks, fire, and melted metal rained down. The white hovercraft was vibrating sideways even though it was in park. Steve grunted and pushed Danno further into the floorboards, balling up around him protectively. Danno managed to get his head turned far enough to see what was happening, through strings of Steve’s blood-drenched hair. 

They were mere feet from the underside of a massive interstellar troop transport carrier. Close enough to read the identification code on the assembly parts. Too close. Much too close. The carrier had dropped out of warp, and was making its scheduled arrival at Aloha Oahu, totally unaware of the puny craft in its path. The cherry-red hovercraft had left a funky smear on the belly of the transport carrier, and then disintegrated into nothingness. What was left of the craft and its two unfortunate occupants were raining down in bits and pieces, torn to shreds by their ill-timed impact with the underside of a massive troop transport carrier. 

Fire! Something was on fire. Shit! Someone was on fire!


	30. The Final Frontier

Every molecule in Danno’s body ached. His teeth. His hair. His fingernails. Moving. Not moving. Sitting down. Standing up. Inhaling. Exhaling. Holding himself upright was agony. His ribs and spine wanted to curl up and pull him horizontal into a fetal position. His head was spinning. He felt like he was in motion even when he was standing still.

Yet all of that was nothing compared to the guilty agony in his heart right now. He was brushing off the nurses who kept coming up to him, asking him if he was all right, if they could get him anything for the pain. No. He suspected there was no medication to be had which would have helped with this kind of pain. 

“Don’t worry, Detective Williams. He’s going to be fine.” 

Danno jolted when a firm hand clapped his shoulder, and a loud brash voice assaulted his ears. He winced, blinking back tears. He couldn’t remember the guy’s name, but this was another one of McGarrett’s military buddies. He had red-orange hair like flames, and merry brown eyes. He moved around in a blur of blue-green camo and pale skin and freckles. 

“I’m not worried about him,” Danno lied. 

“Cheer up, pal. You’re in good shape for a couple idiots who came within fifteen meters of the bottom of a Herc 7-70 in flight. You know, the safety zone for that puppy is something like 100 meters when she’s parked. Having one of those drop out of warp directly over your head? Fuck me running, man. The sonic distortion waves alone could shake you into molecular soup.” 

Good to know. That tidbit of information went a long way to explaining the high-pitched shriek of alarm the macho super-SEALIE had emitted before shoving Danno into the floor board of the hovercraft and balling up around him. 

“What the hell was McG thinking?” 

The guy laughed and pushed on ahead into the room, repeating the remark in a loud voice to the man in question. Danno remained standing in the hallway outside the room, staring in through a big, wide window. He was hesitant to enter. He needed a couple minutes to digest what had happened out there. 

“What the hell were you thinking, McG?” 

“Guess I wasn’t thinking, Rhino.” 

“You damned right you weren’t thinking. You know what your problem is?” the medic asked, taking Steve by the shoulders and pushing him face-down on the hospital cot that McGarrett was attempting to crawl out of. 

Danno had to look away for a second. In addition to more black and blue marks, there was a horrible thin burn streak across the breadth of Steve’s wide shoulders. A white-hot metal bar had landed on him. It had gone through his thin shirt and a couple layers of skin before he managed to shake it off into the back seat of the car, where it had left a burn mark across the fake leather. 

It wasn’t the burnt skin and flesh that made Danno queasy so much as the knowledge that Steve had gotten hurt because he was protecting Danno. Williams would have caught that white-hot bar right across the face if McGarrett hadn’t been on top of him. Steve had put his body in the path of danger, protecting Danno at all costs. Danno needed a couple more minutes to wrap his brain around that concept. Nobody had ever done that for him before in such a visceral, automatic, in-your-face way. That big lug had tossed himself in on top of Danno to save him, like it was nothing. 

Rhino the medic tucked Steve’s arms next to his sides, straightened his hips, tugged his legs out straight again too. Mouth running a mile a minute while he opened a palm-sized jar. Fingers and hands smoothed the blue goo over Steve’s wound. 

“You SEALIEs never think. You just act.”

“Yup.” 

“There’s consequences for standing in the path of danger. You know that, right?”

“Yup.” 

“Are you listening to me?” 

“Yup,” Steve whimpered. 

“Where the hell is your mantle?” 

“Left it in my car.” 

“Steeeeeeve…” the medic whined, rubbing knuckles on the top of Steve’s head.

“I know.” 

“If you had been wearing your mantle, that bar would have bounced off without a leaving a mark.” 

“I know,” Steve winced again. 

“Why weren’t you wearing your mantle?” 

“I dunno.” 

“If you’re bound and determined to be a human shield, you gotta wear your safety gear, ya dipshit son of a bitch.” 

“I know,” Steve sighed. 

The medic finished smoothing the compound over Steve’s burn mark, and quickly examined the rest of him with a practiced eye, picking up bites, bumps, and bruises. Love bites. 

“What happened to your hips?”

“Um…” 

“You’re a mess, McG.”

The medic rolled Steve’s naked body over, poking and prodding, clicking his tongue in disapproval. McGarrett was fending off the probing fingers, but the medic was insistent. 

“Let me get some… your nose okay?” he asked, two thoughts at once, lifting Steve’s chin, carefully touching a fingertip delicately on his bruised nose. “Who punched you in the face?” 

“I…”

“You’ve got bumps and bruises everywhere.”

“I’m fine,” Steve lied, fighting to sit up, fighting to push away the hands. The medic let him sit up, swing his legs around, and get his toes on the floor. 

“Where you going without clothes?”

“Rhino, get me a go-bag, would you?” 

“McG, you ought to be admitted overnight. You need a few hours of rest.” 

“I got shit to do, man. I’ll rest when I’m done.” 

“I could order you to stay in bed.” 

“You could,” Steve growled. Up through those long lashes came the most devastating, dangerous glare. 

“But you’d totally ignore that. I know. You guys are not happy unless you’re ass-deep in alligators. At least lie down long enough for the skin to settle. If you move around before it sets, you’re going to have one helluva scar.” 

“Where’s Danno? Is he okay? You said he was okay. Where’s Danno?” 

“Your buddy is in the hallway,” the medic said, pointing over a shoulder with one thumb. “Take it easy on him. He looks a little shaken up.”

“You’re too funny.”

“Sorry. No pun intended. Do I need to give this new guy the speech about how he should avoid you at all costs, because you’ve managed to put every single one of your buddies in a sickbay or a morgue?”

"Poino," Steve whispered. 

"Bloody cursed is what you are." 

"Danno knows. This shit itches,” Steve whined, trying to get one hand up over his shoulders, then sideways up his back to the burn mark. 

“Of course, it itches. That means it’s working. Lie down on your stomach, and let it work. It takes ten minutes for the formula to clone your DNA, and rebuild a protective layer of skin. You can be calm for ten minutes, McG. Will you just… for once… do what you’re told to do? Hmm? Don’t make me beg.”

“Rhino…”

“You SEALIES are the biggest fucking babies,” Rhino complained affectionately. He pulled a small cylinder out of the drawer on the rolling chest at the head of the bed. He shook it up, and sprayed over Steve’s back where the blue goo was sinking into his skin. The relief on Steve’s face was almost comical. 

“Better,” McGarrett sighed happily. The wheels turned. "Could I have...?" Steve didn't even have a chance to finish the sentence. 

“I’ll set you up with a few, if you promise to behave. Hang tight, sailor.” 

Without waiting for an affirmative reply, the medic shoved Steve face-down on the cot again, smacking him in the head a couple times.

“This wound up here has sealed nicely. I was even able to work around your hair.”

“You wanna stop banging on my head like a bongo before you reopen it?” 

“Headache?” Rhino wondered, feigning innocence with a prickly smirk. 

“It’s not so much the headache as the double vision that’s the problem,” Steve blinked.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Rhino teased, giving Steve the bird. “You know, McG? Pain is the body’s way of saying ‘Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea’.”

“Pain is weakness leaving the body,” Steve chanted back. 

“My ass,” Rhino snorted. “How’s Joe White doing? Has he seen your hair? I doubt he would approve. I should sedate you, and shave you to the quick. This thing is a disgrace.” 

“Touch my hair, and you’re a dead man,” Steve rumbled, smacking Rhino’s hand off the mangled braid. 

“Ten minutes, McG. Nose to the pillow. I’ve got tranquilizers, and I’m not afraid to use them on you.” 

“Thanks, Rhino,” Steve called out as the medic headed out again. As Rhino went past Danno, grinning with amusement, Danno spotted the name plate on his jacket. 

“Hey, O’Dwyer? Is he going to be okay? Are you sure?” Danno asked. 

“Him? He’ll be fine. Go in there, and sit on him for me for a couple minutes, would you? Make him stay in bed.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” Danno responded. He burst into the room, his shouts penetrating his own head from the inside out. Williams advanced on McGarrett with his fists clenched. “You stupid essobee! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” he demanded as he launched himself at the other man. 

Totally unprepared, Steve didn’t know what to do. He sat up, smiling happily when he saw Danno, then frowning when Williams started shouting at him. Looking appropriately penitent even when he couldn’t hide his happiness at seeing Danno up and around and okay. Steve’s eyes bulged in surprise when Danno took him by the shoulders and shook him violently. 

“If you ever do anything that stupid again, I’m going to kill you! Do you understand me!?” 

“You mad, Danno?” Steve responded. 

“Don’t you ever risk your life to save mine! Do you hear me?” 

“Not very well, no,” Steve admitted, testing out a wicked smirk. Danno shook him again.

“I’m serious!” 

In reply, Steve leaned in and pecked a kiss on Danno’s nose. The smaller man let out a loud sob, wrapped both arms around Steve, and squeezed him tight. There was a flurry of words, most of them unrepeatable, undistinguishable from the muffled sobs that shook Danno’s frame. Steve put his arms around his partner and whispered consolingly in his ear.

“I’m sorry.” 

Danno was furious again. He reared back, and slammed his forehead roughly against Steve’s. Both cried out in pain simultaneously. Danno had left a soot mark on Steve’s forehead. The SEALIE was frowning and rubbing his hurt head. 

The door swung back open behind them. Rhino entered, carrying two go-bags. He stopped in his tracks and sprouted a knowing grin. 

“Should I separate you two, or should I draw the shades and come back in ten minutes?” 

“I need a shower, and some clothes, and…” Danno rambled off a litany of words, grabbing one of the go-bags, and heading into the bathroom. He closed and locked the door. Leaned on his hands and arms against the portal and blinked back tears. 

When he emerged fifteen or twenty minutes later, Steve was wearing tightie-whitie, standard issue briefs. Danno froze, eyes all over the SEALIE again. He either had no modesty, or no concept of inappropriate nakedness. McGarrett was attempting to crawl into his uniform pants. He nearly fell on his face when he turned and saw Danno decked out in a borrowed camo uniform. 

“You look…” Steve started to say, but Danno cut him off, and all McGarrett could do was smile broadly at him. 

“I can’t wear this,” Danno complained loudly, pulling and plucking at the camo like a dead animal skin. Rhino came back into the room, carrying another bag. This one was filled with silver packets of various shapes and sizes and configurations. 

“Hey, looking good there,” Rhino winked at Danno, and dropped the third bag on Steve’s bed. He took the SEALIE by the hips, yanked up his trousers, and fastened them for him. “How’d I do on the size? It was a guess.” 

“I can’t wear this. I can’t walk around impersonating a soldier. I’m not a soldier. I’m a detective. Where the hell are my clothes?” 

“Covered in soot, blood, snot, and other various bodily fluids. I chucked them in the incinerator. And while I’m on the topic,” Rhino answered, pulling Steve’s teeshirt down over his head, tucking the ends into his pants for him. He swung Steve’s camo shirt around his shoulders, up his arms, and across his front, deftly buttoning him up. Steve was barely standing up straight, and sorta watched Rhino dressing him. 

“You got a lot of nerve, pal,” Danno growled, poking Rhino with one finger. 

“I brought you some food. You especially, McG. You gotta eat more than fruit and…coconut water, among other things.” Rhino bit off the words, and cast a side glance at Danno. He paused to choose his words carefully. “You gotta get enough protein, iron, potassium, calcium. Are you listening to me?” 

“Yeah, Rhino. Thanks. Got any beef stew in there?” Steve asked, poking around in the bag. 

“Plenty of beef stew. Socks?” 

“What did you do with my boots?” Steve wondered. 

“That pair of… I…” Rhino stammered. “Incinerator,” he admitted. 

“My lucky boots?” Steve sat down with a hurt sound. 

“I’m sorry, man. I didn’t realize they were your lucky boots.” 

“Incinerator?” 

“Afraid so,” Rhino winced. 

“Oh.” Somehow, the tiny little hurt sound was worse than being yelled at. 

“Maybe these will be your new lucky boots,” Rhino offered, slipping one on Steve and lacing it up. 

“Oh,” Steve repeated. Rhino dug in the bag of silver packets, ripped one open, and stuck it into Steve’s grip. McGarrett started sucking down the contents quickly and quietly. He avoided looking directly into Rhino’s face. Rhino put Steve’s other boot on, and laced it up for him too. 

"Sorry," Rhino repeated. 

“I can't believe you toasted my lucky boots,” Steve babbled as if in a daze. He put the empty silver packet on the cot.

“Sorry, McG. Can you even stand up without help?” Rhino asked as Steve pulled himself off the bed, and wavered in place. 

“He’s got help,” Danno said, getting up under Steve’s arm and supporting him. 

Rhino helped strap one bag over Danno’s shoulder, one bag over Steve’s shoulder, and carried the third one himself as he escorted them to the sickbay door. 

“Tank finds out I let you leave without her checking you over first, she’s gonna puke kittens,” Rhino smirked. 

“I got shit to do,” Steve rumbled. 

“You better hustle then. I’ll tell her you got an emergency call.” 

“What did you do with our percoms?” Steve asked as Rhino pulled one of the metallic capes out of the hallway closet and draped it around McGarrett’s shoulders. 

“In your buddy’s bag. Here,” Rhino added, pulling out another cape and clasping it around Danno’s shoulders. “You’ll pass. Just remember to salute everyone he salutes,” the medic tormented, pushing Steve and Danno along. 

McGarrett made it as far as the long window in the hallway which looked out onto the vastness. He stopped in his tracks and dropped both bags hard to the ground. Danno held him up, staring back and forth between his shocked face and the stars streaking past outside.

“We’re on a ship?” Steve questioned Rhino. 

“Um…” Rhino stammered. "Yeah?" 

“What ship are we on?” Steve asked through tight lips. 

“The United Systems Hospital Ship Comfort. They brought you on board because it was the closest medical vessel. Except we put out of Aloha Oahu twenty minutes after you were brought on board. The captain didn’t want to delay departure. We’re on a tight schedule. That was a couple hours ago,” Rhino reported. “I thought you knew,” he added miserably. 

“Where is she headed?” Steve asked, lips pulled even tighter. 

“Deep space. We’ve got orders to rendezvous with the USNV Lafayette at top secret coordinates, and proceed together to…”

“No,” Steve gulped.

“McG? You okay?” 

“No. I… I have to… get back to Hawaii,” Steve gulped. 

“Um… McG…” 

“What’s the closest planet? You could send me off with a…” 

“Steve, it’s okay,” Rhino soothed. 

“Escape pod... I… I have to…” Steve’s breathing was rough. He was beginning to hyperventilate and shake. Danno felt the SEALIE’s pulse go through the roof. His skin flooded with an icy pallor and chill.

“Steve?” Rhino questioned tentatively. 

“Need to… get… to safety… Need to…” Steve babbled, panicked eyes glued to the streaking starfield outside. 

Danno felt the tense muscles on the arm he was holding slip free of his grasp. He thought at first that Steve was fainting, because for a split second, it looked like he was falling. O’Dwyer knew better, but Rhino moved a fraction of a second too slow. McGarrett took off like a comet through the hallway and vanished out of sight. 

“Fuck a duck,” Williams muttered angrily as he raced after Steve, amazed at how fast the exhausted, battered man was moving around corners. What had set him off? Why was he freaking out so badly? Rhino tapped the device on his left wrist while pursuing Danno and Steve both. 

“Captain Janeiro? O’Dwyer here!” Rhino shouted while running. 

“Go ahead, O’Dwyer.”

“We gotta lock down the escape pods, sir!” 

“Why?” 

“McGarrett’s awake. Panic attack!” 

“Understood.” 

Danno watched Steve disappear into a small alcove. McGarrett was heaving for breath, and pounding frantically on the system board on the wall. 

“Steve?!” Rhino howled. 

The doors skooshed closed in Danno and Rhino’s faces. Steve was trying to pry the panel off the wall with his bare hands. The alcove was a small knob at the junction of three corridors, and there was a symbol above the door which showed the small knob with motion marks to the right. Escape pod?! How had Steve found one so quickly? Had he recognized the symbol? Had he known where to look? Danno thought about the models which had been all over Steve's office. Had Steve been studying those models so he would know where the escape pods were on every possible ship in the US Star Systems' fleet of vessels? Or had he stumbled onto it by sheer luck? By following his nose down the corridor and seeing the familiar knob which protruded on the ship's hull like a knuckle on a finger?

Steve was kicking and punching the panel, but it would not budge. He was gasping, face a blank mask. There was only one thought in his head – he had to get out of here, now. Right now!

Rhino pulled out a green card from his pocket, and ran it over the junction of the two doors. They beeped and opened. Steve dropped down onto his butt, and scooted as close to the panel as he could get. He was tugging and biting on the panel. Bloody nails. Hair in strings. Sweating profusely as he rambled. Rhino put both arms around Steve and pulled him gently away from the systems panel, tucking him into the far side of the escape pod. 

Danno knelt down, tentatively petting Steve’s shaking extremities. Both hands resting on his boot toes. He wanted to help, but he was at a loss how to make himself useful. 

“Gotta get out. Gotta get out. Gotta get out,” Steve rambled, trembling all over. Rhino fetched a hypodermic injector deftly from a side pouch. He nipped McGarrett’s jugular with the injector. Steve was a malleable puddle of limbs before Rhino even pulled the injector away from his skin. 

“FREEZE!” 

Danno recoiled in surprise when three laser rifles were jabbed into the escape pod space. Rhino was all sangfroid about the situation. Clearly not the first time he had had a laser rifle pointed at him. Rhino heaved Steve’s unconscious body upright, and barked at the three idiots in red uniforms outside the escape pod doors. 

“Put those fucking things down, and help me lift him. Ya goddamn, gun-toting yahoos!”


	31. Tranquility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for triggery medical things

Tranquility can be nice. A penetrating warmth and numbness fills your limbs, and sleep carries you on gently-rocking waves. This must be what death is like. Bathed in warmth and comforting darkness. No worries. No fears. Except there’s a part of your brain which knows the peace is only temporary, the calm before the storm. 

Steve was sitting sideways on a hospital bed. Although he couldn’t remember why, he had a sense that he should have been terribly injured. But as he felt carefully around his body, his arms and legs and hands, he seemed fine. Better than fine. He felt awash with warmth and peace. He welcomed the weight of his lucky boots, shifted his long legs, and stayed out of the way of the doctors and nurses who were swarming anxiously around the patient in the next bed. Steve wondered if the alarms going off around the other soldier were what had roused him out of his deep sleep. 

The poor bastard was in desperate shape, hanging by a thread. The front right of his forehead was crushed, and his nose had been smashed almost flat. His features and extremities were unrecognizable, drenched in blood, bone visible through torn camo and ripped flesh. His body was twisted in a strange fashion which could not, should not, have been comfortable, the right side turned uppermost, though strangely-flattened. Maybe he had been in that position for so long that he had been unable to move out of it under his own accord. His mangled right arm was uppermost, but twisted as though he had been lying on top of it too long. Had the medics picked him up and turned him over? That would have explained the way his body was contorted. The head nurse was calling out orders, and heavy machinery was being dragged in. Across the room, another man was undergoing the same sort of treatment at the hands of another skilled team flying into action. Steve said a silent prayer for both of the men. 

In the room beyond the door, visible through a wall, human bodies were being pieced back together with patience and care. Their faces had been covered by simple, blue cloths, leaving their torn and burned bodies exposed. A crowd of camo-clad soldiers circled around in the room with the woman in blue scrubs, but they weren’t helping her. They were standing around her, watching her, talking to each other, but not interacting with her.

The nurse had to step back from the silver tables and hang her head, rub a shoulder to her cheek, and steel herself to keep going with her unspeakable task. She retrieved another piece, attempting to match ripped uniform edges of blue and green camo, red and bloody torn flesh. She needed to make these men and women complete again—it was a macabre puzzle she was compelled to solve. Steve could feel her pain from here. He wanted to go to her side, put a hand on her shoulder, and offer comfort and care. He couldn’t understand why those people around her weren’t helping her. Why did their faces look so familiar to him? 

The bellowing alarms drew Steve’s attention back to the man in the next bed. The head nurse bent close to him, chanting softly as she cradled his wounded skull in her hands and fitted him with a collar to support his neck. Steve knew her. He knew her! He scooted to the edge of the bed, put his boots on the floor, and focused on her. 

“Stay with me, soldier. Blink if you can hear me. Open your eyes.”

The man on the bed clenched his bloody left hand into a fist – the only weapon he had. He mewled weakly through his ruined features, aspirating reddish droplets as he struggled. He clawed at the young woman who was attempting to lift and straighten his right arm. She skipped back with a gasp of horror. The man on the left side of the bed gently cupped the flailing extremity, pulling the flesh-and-blood weapon under control. The right arm thudded to the medical bed, lifeless. It had been twisted and mangled for so long that it had become necrotic. Steve knew the man was going to lose most of that right arm, just by looking at the devastated condition of the lower sections of the limb.

“Is that a laser burn?” the redhead whispered, anger shooting through his face and voice. He disengaged the clasp of the cloak which was twisted around the man's body, dropping the ruined mantel to the ground beside the medical bed. 

“Rhino, keep him steady, but don’t put any pressure on his arm. Understood?” 

“Yes, Captain.” 

“You stop pawing at Dr. Tippett, and behave yourself,” the nurse holding the man’s skull scolded him. Steve knew he knew her, but he couldn’t place her face. His brain was not cooperating with his search for her name. 

The man on the bed mewled again, and the same sound echoed from Steve’s own throat. He watched the other man reacting to the pain, and felt sympathy. When the jolts of pain stabbed through him like fractured lightning, dispelling the warmth and the calm, Steve understood finally that he was not sitting beside a stranger’s bed. He was gazing at his own ruined body from the outside, held to the spot only by his will to live. 

Steve's attention flashed to the crowd of soldiers in the room with the body parts. The soldiers were staring back at him. They could see him! One or two waved at him, smiling, beckoning warmly to him. It was his ohana -- his SEALIE team. Freddie was at the foremost, leading the others on. Fear flashed through Steve. He reached out, and gripped the shoulder of the head nurse. She quivered as though she had felt the touch. A falling sensation echoed through Steve, body and soul. Time itself shifted. Or he shifted. Or the universe turned around him as he stood still. He wanted to open his eyes, but the right one would not obey through the swollen lid. With great effort, he opened his left eye, and he stared up at the woman cradling his skull. He concentrated on her voice. 

From across the room, Steve could sense the camo-clad soldiers coming towards him. Every cell in his body froze with fear. He was thrilled to see them, but his heart turned cold, because he knew, he knew. They weren't real any more. They were the bodies the medical examiner was piecing together. They were all dead, and they were coming for him, because he belonged with them. They belonged together. He had no right to resist leaving with them. They loomed closer, their faces visible above the nurse who was tending him. Freddie reached for Steve's right arm, and Steve felt their hands connecting, fingers tightening together. 

_"Freddie?"_

The head nurse watched Steve's face, watched his left eye focusing where there was no one to focus on. She stood protectively closer to the bed, touched Steve's face, and distracted him from the words that Freddie was mouthing at him. 

“Look at me, soldier. That’s it. Good job. Are you with me?"

Steve centered his gaze on her familiar face, and her smile warmed fractionally.

"Good job, soldier. Rhino, help roll the imager over him slowly. Level with his neck at first. We’ll have to wait a few seconds for the anesthetic to work through his limbs. Honey, don’t worry. Don’t look at the machine. Look at me.”

Steve couldn’t not look at the imager machine, although the neck collar was impeding him being able to turn his head. His breathing ratcheted up with terror as the large, flat-bed medical device was positioned over his warped body. A memory went through him of being pinned beneath a heavy panel, unable to free himself. Fear moved with the machine as it crept up his legs. The reasonable part of his brain knew the machine was giving the doctors and nurses some idea of what condition his bones and muscles were in. Where to touch. Where not to touch until his pain had been deadened. One of the techs stepped back, dodged away to the right, and lost the contents of his stomach between the two beds opposite.

“Tank, should I up the tranquilizers?” Rhino asked. 

Steve bellowed with recognition, happy and sad and upset. Tank! Of course! Relief flooded his body. Tank! He was in good hands. But he must have been seriously hurt if they had had to evacuate him to a medical ship. They were on a ship, right? But who had evacuated him?

Tank was distracted, and didn’t answer Rhino right away. She scolded the tech with one sharp glance. 

“Sorry, Captain Karlsen,” the tech mumbled. 

“Don't let it happen again in my ward. You clean it up on the double before someone slips and falls,” Tank responded without venom. The mortified tech scuttled to obey the command. “Ryan, do not up the tranquilizers. We need to stabilize his systems first,” Tank answered Rhino finally. 

“We need to know how bad his skull is,” Dr. Tippett whispered to Tank as she was stroking Steve’s cheek. He felt a wave of nausea as his jaw wobbled. 

“Understood, Doctor,” Tank promised. 

“What’s he saying?” the redhead asked. He was holding Steve’s left hand through the holes in the side of the imager machine. 

“I don't know. Are you with me, soldier? Don’t try to nod. Blink once for yes, twice for no.” 

Steve blinked and nodded both. Tank snorted. Her smile warmed even further. She was practically grinning. Rhino made a soft, sympathetic noise. Steve glanced at Freddie again. The blond watched Steve struggling. There was concern and sympathy in Freddie's eyes. He spoke to the other soldiers, barking commands, but Steve couldn't hear what they were saying. The others looked disgruntled, started heading back to the morgue. They passed right through the wall instead of taking the open door. Steve quivered anxiously. Freddie patted Steve's right hand, and moved out of Dr. Tippett's way. He mouthed goodbye, and smiled, and followed the others back to the morgue.

“Is his jaw dislocated?” Rhino wondered. Steve was blinking back tears, hoping nothing would fall.

“That would be my guess. On a bright note, we have confirmation of movement in the neck and head, and the left extremities. How tight is his grip over there?” Tank asked, raising an eyebrow at Rhino. 

“Two in ten.” 

“That’s better than nothing,” Tank responded. 

A different warmth was coming up Steve’s body—a wonderful in tingling his toes, then his legs, pelvis and hips. Thank goodness, that wonderful tingling swept through his cock. That at least was reassuring. Funny what a guy worries about in moments like this. The comforting warmth crept up most, but not all, of his ribs. It was like notes were missing from a piano scale. His spine was hit and miss too, intermittent warm tingles with a prickle here and there. It wasn’t as pleasant but was tolerable. His left arm submitted willingly to the warmth. Oh, much better. The right arm refused to stop hurting even as the blessed sweet warmth claimed the rest of his body. His collar bones and neck felt funny. His right arm kept nagging him insistently. 

Tank moved forward over him, needing a better look at the monitor no doubt. Steve was staring up at her tummy, the deep blue of her uniform. He quivered as he remembered the night sky above the broken ship, the stars moving when he could not move. He was being carried on a stretcher, surrounded by field medics. But where had the soldiers gone? There had been soldiers combing through his ship, poking and prodding the bodies of his ohana. They had poked at him too, and left him where he was, moving on to the next one, and the next one. Searching? But what for?

“Have we gotten an ID yet?” Tank asked, moving back again to where Steve could see her face. His eye darted around. Freddie and the others were gone. Steve shuddered with sorrow and relief and guilt, putting his eye back on Tank's face. She saw him look at her, and she rewarded the effort was a gentle pat on the top of his head. 

“The first search came back inconclusive,” Dr. Tippett answered. "I think the facial recognition failed." 

"Not surprising, considering the condition of his face," Rhino interjected. 

"Stow that, O'Dwyer. He can hear you," Tank chided. 

"Sorry, man. Sorry," Rhino soothed sincerely. 

“Are we sure these soldiers are ours? Could they be a terrorist group masquerading as a military team?” Tippett wondered. 

“No,” Tank understood even if she didn't have proof.

"Why was a fighter squadron out of Norfolk firing on their ship? They were already done, but Norfolk kept firing at them," Tippett asked. 

“These kids look like a special forces unit. That ship was stripped down, no identifying marks,” Rhino commented. 

“It was a Hellwing, what was left of a Hellwing anyway,” Tank replied. “I don't know why the fighters from Norfolk were firing on them, but this young man is one of ours. That’s a standard issue anchor and trident on his right arm. Zero-in on the color. You see striations in the ink?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tippett replied. 

"Each tattoo is personalized for every soldier. The ink is laced with hundreds of microbeads, each one stamped with the soldier’s individual ID. That’s how you know he’s not a fake,” Tank responded. “See if you can extract a bead, and put it up on the monitor.” 

“What about the lotus over here?” Rhino asked. Tank blanched with concern, and exchanged a meaningful glance with the medic. 

“That’s more of a water lily than a lotus. Don’t you agree? A water lily rests on the water, but a lotus rises above the water.” 

“Hard to tell through all the blood. I… um… maybe? The lotus blossoms are usually blue or black. This flower is pink. Purple. Maybe?” Rhino nodded. Dr. Tippett was becoming more fearful by the second. She lowered her voice, eyes nervously watching the other people across the room. 

“You know the rules, Captain Karlsen. If we find a lotus, we have to turn the patient over to command.” 

“Jessa, if we turn him over to command, he won’t see tomorrow,” Tank whispered back. 

“It’s a water lily,” Rhino decided firmly. 

“Water lily,” Tank insisted.

“It's a water lily,” Dr. Tippett agreed. 

“How’s his response on the right side?” Tank asked the young doctor, her voice louder than necessary. There was a twinkle of motherly pride in her eyes. Steve could tell Tank's estimation of the kid had risen considerably in the last few seconds.

“No nerve reaction on the right side,” Dr. Tippett replied loudly to Tank. Her face saddened with the realization. She was taking this all very personally. Sweet Granny. Steve wondered how long the kid had been a practicing doctor if she hadn’t yet developed callouses on her emotions, if she was taking her cases personally still? He much preferred older doctors, with detached emotions, someone who wasn't going to get all soggy on him. The meaning behind her words finally sank in. He mewled in alarm. He wanted to speak, to tell them there were nerve connections over there on the right, because his right arm hurt like hell, but his jaw wasn’t really in the mood any more.

“Are you sure there's no feeling? He reacted when you touched his right arm,” Rhino offered from a place that was growing more distant with each passing second. 

“Phantom limb syndrome,” Tank murmured as her face floated in Steve’s narrowing field of vision. 

“Oh! I got one of the microbeads,” Tippett injected excitedly. A navy blue orb became visible on the monitor above the imager. 

“Steven J. McGarrett?!” Tank exclaimed. 

“You know him?” Rhino asked. 

“Steve?! Kiddo? What did you get yourself into this time?” Tank shouted, stroking his hair again. Steve made a mournful sound. She knew who he was. Tank knew him. It was real. He was here. This was happening. He wanted to bawl like a wounded toddler. He wanted to curl up in a quiet corner, and sob for days. 

“You know him?” Tippett asked. 

“God, yes. He’s a SEALIE. He’s been in and out of my wards for years,” Tank confirmed, sniffling loudly. "Honningbie, what have they done to you?"

“He's not one of the…” Tippett wondered fearfully.

“Not one of them,” Tank responded firmly. 

Dr. Tippett exhaled audibly. "Okay. Good. _Good_."

“Don’t worry, Steve. We’ve got you. I've got you,” Tank promised. She kept her hand on the top of Steve’s skull as the flat-bed machine moved up over his face and head. He tensed out of reflex, knowing he shouldn’t be worried, that he should trust Tank. But he couldn’t see out. He couldn’t see around him. He didn’t like this. He wanted back out. His left hand hit the imager from the inside, leaving a red smear. Rhino cupped his hand gently again. 

“Quit squirming,” Tank urged. “You’re blurring the images.” 

Steve remained still. He didn’t want to disappoint Tank. The light wasn’t bright, but staring too long into the flashing diodes of the flat-bed imaging machine made his head swim. 

“Close your eyes, doofus,” Tank murmured gently, thumb moving through his blood-caked hair. 

Steve knew someone was moving his legs, pulling them out straight. He was too far under to resist whatever they might wish to do to him. It didn’t hurt at all, when it should have hurt like hell. It felt super weird. Like his limbs were made of pliable putty. Rhino and Tippett were taking off his boots. Cutting off his trousers. Rubbing his feet. Oh. He understood now. They were manipulating all his body parts now that the machine had managed to numb his nerves. They maneuvered his hips, and pulled his spine out straight too. Oh, that was nice. More please. Tank had both hands inside the machine from the top. She removed the protective collar long enough to gingerly manipulate his neck, then his collar bones. 

“Damn it,” she muttered, fingers prodding the right side. “Right clavicle is in a thousand pieces. He must have landed on his right side when the ship made impact.” 

“What about his scapula?” Dr. Tippett was asking, but Steve was too tired to listen for the answer.

“Even worse,” Tank clucked her disapproval. 

“He’s slipping into sleep mode,” Rhino reported.

“Keep an eye on his brain waves,” Tank replied. 

“We need to get the prosthetic unit in here for a consultation,” Tippett added as Steve stopped fighting and slipped under. It was all warm water and sleepy waves and someone massaging his feet.


	32. Therapy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edited to remove Corporal (not a Navy rank!) and to correct continuity timeline

“Steve? You all right, babe?” 

A different voice echoed around him. A name was on the tip of his tongue. A kiss touched his heel, then his ankle. Steve licked his lips and cleared his throat, shifting his feet. A thumb caressed the middle of his right sole. 

“Coming around?” 

Steve grunted softly in response, struggling to put his right arm under himself to sit up. The room was dark. There were birds chirping and calling nearby. The sun was setting in a glorious glow of reds and oranges. Familiar trees wavered outside. He could see the ocean in the distance – not just any ocean, but his own ocean. For one crazy second, he thought he was waking up again at Lola's. He knew that wasn't possible though, that this must have been an illusion.

“Danno?” Steve questioned. A snort followed. 

"Who were you expecting?" Danno replied. There was no denying the relief in his voice, seeing McGarrett pulling himself awake and upright. 

“Nobody,” Steve answered truthfully. Danno patted his shoulder. 

“Rhino picked the holograms for you.” 

“Where are we?” Steve puzzled, rubbing both hands over his face, heels of his palms in his eyes. 

“One of the therapy rooms. You’ve been out for ten hours. They let me stay in here to keep an eye on you.” 

Although Danno's words tapered off, his concern was evident. Steve fought with the blankets, and found the floor with both feet. He was aloft, staggering for the small room, like a ship struggling against strong winds leans to the left as it crosses the vastness. Danno got under Steve's side, and helped him along. Steve managed to get a grip on the frame before his brain was even out of the bed. The washroom wavered in and out of focus. Thank goodness someone had taken the precaution of re-dressing him in a hospital gown, because pants would have been an impossible challenge in his condition. He was fumbling with the end of the hospital gown as Danno closed the door and waited anxiously outside. When Steve returned, words were flowing from the detective as he herded the SEALIE back towards the bed which dominated the room. Danno circled back to the washroom to turn out the light before returning to the bed. 

“... time delay between messages, but Gracie is having a wonderful time with her grandparents. At least there's that. I told her I would be back soon, but to be honest, I have no idea what's going on here. Can the Navy really keep us on this ship until they return from their mission? Five years? In deep space? I mean, can they do that? We didn't ask to be taken on board. This is kidnapping. It has to be illegal. Steve? Are you even listening to me?" 

McGarrett flopped gracelessly face-down on the bed. Danno went quiet. He picked up the tablet and thumbed his way around. He climbed onto the head of the bed, and patted the other pillow by the headboard, but Steve wasn’t sure he could make it all that way. He stayed where he was.

“Oh. This looks good,” Danno commented. Steve balled up inside the bedcovers, staring out with one eye like a disgruntled ogre from a cave.

The birds and trees and ocean waves disappeared. A busy city life sprang into being, full of lights and hovercrafts and pedestrians crossing the imaginary sidewalk which was inches from the end of the bed. Steve recoiled in surprise, rolling up against Danno's legs and backing up with his feet until he reached the headboard. 

“Who in the world would find this comforting?” Steve wondered, pulling the covers up to his neck again. Where had all his blood gone? He felt like his veins had been filled with icy slush which was impeding his movements. 

“Reminds me of home,” Danno frowned sourly. 

“Sorry,” Steve offered meekly. Danno pouted, brows rising and falling, face rotating through an unreadable emotion or two. Or maybe it was just indigestion. In the bright light from the cityscape, Williams could see Steve's glazed eyes and dizzy expression. 

“What were you dreaming about before you woke up?” the detective asked quietly. Steve was waiting for the room to stop rocking, or for his equilibrium to settle itself. 

“Hospital ship?” Steve responded with a shiver.

“Yes. We’re on a hospital ship,” Danno confirmed. “Do you remember your dreams, or do they vanish altogether when you wake up? What do you remember?”

Steve didn’t answer right away. He remembered Tank and Rhino, and the dream about the last time he was on a hospital ship. He remembered Freddie standing, _Freddie floating_ , over his bed, coaxing him to leave with the rest of the SEALIE team from Gavla 6. The others had been so disappointed in Steve for staying. He understood that now. He had understood their displeasure all along. He had let them down by having the nerve to go on living.

“Nothing,” Steve answered finally, voice flat, emotions cold. “ ‘S’all a blank. Sorry.” 

“Nah, man. It’s all right. No need to apologize,” Danno swore. Those China blue eyes looked right through Steve. He knew instinctively that Steve didn't want to share, that it had been too personal, too painful. Danno put down the tablet, and rested a hand on Steve's arm. "You're all right," he promised. Steve sniffled softly as he wasn't quite so sure what to do, how to take the comforting kindness. “How did they get you back home last time you were in deep space?” Danno wondered. 

“They knocked me out, and stuck me in the cargo hold.”

“No shit?” Danno chortled. 

Steve shuddered. Danno immediately felt bad. He caressed the SEALIE’s hair, and smiled again. He dramatically pressed another selection on the tablet. 

“Oh… no… Danno…” Steve grumbled. He closed his eyes against the stars which appeared. 

“Wait, wait, wait. Give it a chance. They’re not moving.”

“Aren’t they?” Steve whimpered. 

“Take a look, you heathen. That’s Home. It’s from Old Earth. Sierra Nevada Mountains. I didn’t think there was much footage left from before the Exodus. The departure had been so hasty, so sudden, so frantic. Bless the soul of whoever was able to save what they could." Danno marveled at the ceiling, his voice soft with reverence. Tentatively, Steve opened his eyes. Maybe it was kinda nice – the stationary starfield and the jagged mountain tops. There were gaps in the footage, but the missing pieces weren’t too jarring. 

“Who in their right mind would wantonly destroy such a beautiful place?" Danno wondered, shaking his head. Steve wasn't listening. He was a million miles away, going over the dream again in his mind.

“Why do they have to turn the lotus blossoms over to command?” Steve asked suddenly.

“What’s that?” Danno asked in reply. He was jolted by the question. 

“Tank. She said if I had a lotus, they had to turn me over to command.” 

“What are you talking about?” Danno asked. 

“When the medical team brought me up from the surface of Gavla 6, the doctor thought my tattoo was a lotus blossom, and she said they had to turn me over to command.” 

“To command what?” 

“Central Command.” 

Danno poked the tablet. The lights came on bright. Steve winced and shielded his face like a stunned vampire. 

“Why?” 

“I don’t know why.” 

“Was this a dream, or was it an actual memory?” 

“It was a dream about a memory.” 

“That doesn’t count, Steve.” 

“What do you mean it doesn't count?" the SEALIE demanded peevishly, his face bunching up. 

“We can't build our case on dreams of reconstructed memories. We need cold, hard facts. Not conjecture. Not speculation." 

“I need to talk to Tank.” 

“Sorry, Babe. I think we’re stuck in the therapy room for the time being. Ironic, by the way, because for the last few hours, your therapist was sending warning messages, and then she called. I answered your percom. You had an appointment yesterday, which you missed. She wanted to reschedule for today, but I explained that you were in the middle of a case, and somewhere in the middle of the Blackwater Nebula. She completely lost her cool. I gotta say, I was a little surprised. This is the person who is supposed to be helping you with your angry outbursts? Anyhow, long story short, she is beyond pissed at you. Because apparently you have used work as excuse several times to skip out on other therapy sessions. This time, she's not letting you get away with it. She's going to personally talk to the Governor about your disturbing behavior." 

McGarrett hid his head under a pillow, and exhaled quietly. Williams wasn't sure if that exasperated sound was in response to the therapist's hissy fit, or to Danno's non-stop verbage.

“I even sent her a picture of you sleeping as proof you weren't lying to her, but apparently that didn't work. She is one tough broad. It’s lucky for you that O’Dwyer was able to talk you down. If you had managed to launch that escape pod, we’d been fishing for your remains from the Polynesian Outer Rings to the Blackwater Nebula.” 

“I need to talk to Tank,” Steve repeated fuzzily. He rolled for the edge of the bed, and landed in an ungainly pile on the floor. 

Danno’s face appeared above the side of the mattress. The metal springs inside squeaked as he chuckled.

“You need help, flyboy?” 

“No,” Steve lied. He stretched out on the floor and gazed at the starfield and the mountains projected all around the room. 

“I don’t want to alarm you, but I’m pretty sure Rhino locked us in here,” Danno interjected. 

“We’re confined to quarters?” Steve worried. Danno wrapped arms around Steve, and did his best to haul him up. 

“The door is locked,” Danno confirmed. 

“I need to talk to Tank,” Steve insisted. 

“It would be nice to have one of those green cards that Rhino is carrying around. He can open any door he wants with one of those," Danno lamented. 

“Medical team or senior military personnel only,” Steve replied. “Was Tank in sickbay?” 

“Yes. She tore Rhino a new butthole for letting you get loose. You could pull her up on the ship’s com. She’s been checking on you every couple hours. Because you’re an ass, but apparently she’s concerned about you.” 

“Is there a first aid kit?” Steve asked. 

“Are you hurt?” Danno demanded. He leaned Steve against a silvery wall, patting him down from stem to stern. 

“I need some alcohol.” 

“That’s not going to be in the first aid kit," Danno smiled. "Besides, I did a computer search on your medications, and you are not allowed to drink alcohol when you're on those things." 

“Will you get me the kit? It’ll be in the wall by the door,” Steve pointed. Reality was beginning to coalesce around him. He was slipping into mission mode -- becoming cold and calculating. Time to assess the situation. They were in a padded room, with a big squeaky bed in the middle, and soft, cushioned walls, and a sound-proof ceiling and floor. Why would Rhino lock Steve in a padded room unless he had been totally out of control? Steve squinted, and recalled clawing at the panel in the escape pod. But that was about all that came back clearly. Why in the world would they have locked Danno in here with him? If Steve was truly a danger, weren't they putting Danno in jeopardy by putting him in the room with a potentially-violent person? Poor Danno! Unless Danno had insisted on being allowed in the room? Aw. Steve stared at Danno, and wondered how that conversation had gone, if Williams had put his foot down and badgered Rhino and Tank until he was allowed in with Steve. He was genuinely touched by the idea of this tiny hurricane pushing to be near him.

"Smiling like that is not going to make me obey your every command," Danno murmured. "I am immune to your obvious charms."

Steve smiled more broadly, and went to get the first aid kit himself. Danno followed like they were chained together. Maybe they were, in a sense, for better or for worse. Steve tucked himself against the niche which would lead to the corridor outside. He tested the exit panel several times. Red light. Red light. Red light. Red light. Danno felt along the panels by the door until one opened. He collected a small blue box with a red cross on the front.

“First aid kit,” he reported, dropping it open in Steve’s hands. "You do know what the definition of insanity is, right?"

"We've got to get out of here, but if the captain has given the order that I am to remain confined to quarters, Tank and Rhino won't let us out. Not unless there's an emergency," Steve explained seriously to Danno, who nodded as if he understood. Then he squinted, went over the words again in his head, and sputtered in concern.

"Why can't you talk to Tank on the percom?"

"I suspect the topic is classified, and you can't discuss classified information over an open com, Danno," Steve whined. "You can be drummed out of the Navy for breaking confidentiality laws." 

Danno stared at Steve as though he were considering reminding the man that he was not, in fact, an active duty Naval officer. He chewed on the words, swallowed them, and went a different direction. 

"I understand that you're upset, but you having a bug up your ass does not constitute an emergency, Steven," the detective answered in his best Dad voice. 

“I'll have to create an emergency, so the ship's systems will automatically open the door, and alert sickbay," Steve decided. He waited for Danno to agree. Williams crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned deeply. 

"You've been confined to a padded room which emits soothing holograms to calm your nerves. I don't want to upset you, but I suspect they don't want you roaming around the ship. Could be why they've taken your pants away too." 

The SEALIE glanced down at his bare legs and feet, and a crooked smirk took his big mouth sideways. 

"I did tell them that might not slow you down for very long," Danno added nervously. "Steve, under exactly what circumstances will the emergency services programming override the ship's locking systems?" 

Steve opened the first aid kit as he headed back for the bed. He rummaged through the bandages, antiseptic ointment, and artificial skin spray, leaving an array of medical aids strewn across the rumpled bedcovers. He snapped the top off the anesthetic spray, and shook up the cylindrical container. 

"There are a limited number of circumstances," the SEALIE answered Danno cryptically before spraying his right forearm with copious amounts of astringent and anesthetic. Steve dropped to the floor and crawled under the bed. Williams stood there, completely perplexed, watching him squirm around. The mattress moved up and down. The covers slipped sideways. Bandages bounced here and there in streams of white gauze. There was a clinking, clanking noise from under the bed -- something metallic was being jarred. McGarrett emerged with one of the squeaky metal coils from inside the mattress. His eyes were gleaming with excitement. He rolled to his knees, and wobbled to his feet. Danno raised a brow, and licked his lips. 

“What are you going to…AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Danno screamed out and dodged back as Steve plunged the metal coil through his right forearm. 

***

“The next time you want to talk to me, Steven, just use the fucking com,” Tank warned ominously.

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve nodded, barely holding back a satisfied smile. Tank was dotting a pair of pencil-like instruments to the neat cut she had made in his right forearm to remove the mattress coil. Across the sickbay, Rhino was patting Danno’s back. The detective was breathing erratically, bent over at the waist, hugging his knees, straightening up, running hands through his hair until it was a jagged mess. 

“I can’t believe…” Danno was rambling.

“Will you calm down already?" Steve called out. Danno whirled around and stormed over to him.

“You're an animal! You are out of control! You need help, Steven! YOU NEED HELP!" he exclaimed. Rhino followed in Danno's footsteps, tugging gently on the detective to haul him out of McGarrett's face. 

“My actions were completely logical. We needed an emergency situation for the doors to open and for sickbay to be alerted. I don't understand why you're screaming at me. I mean, honestly, crazy would be if I had stuck the sharp, pointy object through your arm instead of mine," Steve replied with a sparkle in his eyes. Danno whimpered in concern. Tank bopped McGarrett in the back of the head.

“YOU ARE AN ANIMAL!” Danno retorted. "A walking, talking, blinking, shrieking red beacon! A desperate cry to help! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"

“Stop it this instant,” Tank scolded, motioning Danno back across the room. Rhino tugged and tugged and succeeded in hauling Danno away from Steve a second time.

“I needed to talk to you,” Steve whispered to Tank.

“You have a percom?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Prosthetic robotics are not my forte. You're going to experience malfunctions with the limb until we can reach a spaceport with a specialist.” 

“I'll muddle through.” 

“What do you need? Besides years of intensive therapy and a lifetime supply of bear hugs?” 

“I was thinking about Gavla,” Steve whispered to Tank, watching her face. 

“I’d be surprised if you stopped thinking about it, even once, in the last few months. I don’t blame you. I don’t. You have to pull yourself up and keep going, Steven.” 

“Yes, ma’am. I’m trying,” Steve stammered. 

“I know you are,” Tank agreed. “The skin isn’t damaged too badly. A simple through-and-through. You managed to miss the major blood vessels, and didn't damage the artificial bone. I could replace the outer layer of skin for you if you want.” 

“No. That’s okay. It’s…” Steve replied, studying his extremity. “It doesn’t bother me. Gavla.” 

“What about Gavla?” Tank whispered. 

“Tell me about the lotus blossom tattoos.” 

The stalwart head nurse faltered, her face going dark. She darted a nervous glance around. 

“Rhino, could you take Detective Williams for a walk in the hallway?” she called out. 

“Sure, Captain,” O’Dwyer agreed, hauling the diminutive man along in spite of his protests. 

“This isn't over, Steven! We are not done discussing this!” Danno howled as the door was closing. Steve was shaking his head. 

“He cares about you. Doesn’t want to see you get hurt. He’s a good man. He's just not accustomed to how you boys behave," Tank observed. 

"He is a good man," Steve agreed. He couldn't help the smile that warmed his face. It did not go unnoticed by Tank, but she didn't pursue the topic. "Tell me what you know about the lotus blossoms," Steve pleaded. 

“It’s a standing order. Medical rank and file knows if a soldier with that tattoo comes through our sickbay, we have to contact Central Command. The Brass sends someone to retrieve the soldier, dead or alive.”

“Where does the order come down from?” 

“No one knows. I've never seen it in print. But you don’t question an order like this.” 

“But you did, with me. You insisted my tattoo was a water lily instead of a lotus.” 

“When?” 

“Gavla.” 

Tank retrieved a instrument to seal the neat incisions on the top and the bottom of Steve's forearm.

“You remember being in the triage room?” she worried. He wasn't reacting to the sealing beam. Maybe the anesthetic spray hadn't worn off yet. 

“Bits and pieces," Steve admitted cagily. He didn't want to talk about how many nights in the last year he had been awakened by nightmares about his body parts falling off, or his aching right arm, or wandering around sickbays and screaming for help but no one being able to see him. How many nights he woke up to find mangled and bloody SEALIE team members standing over him? Nights when he couldn't sleep at all, so he went to the office, and turned all the lights on to banish the demons, and kept himself busy until dawn, when he would go out to the courtyard in front of Iolani Palace, and stand there like a half-dead zombie.

“Your tattoo wasn’t an exact match. I wasn’t going to turn you over to those bastards.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I... I know you don't belong to them.” 

"The soldiers with the lotus blossom belong to Central Command?" 

"Yes. No one talks about it, but the theory is they're a super-secret elite tactical squad."

“They could be SEALIEs. How do you know I don't belong to Central Command? How do you know I have the wrong tattoo, unless you've seen the genuine article?”

“Yours is an imitation -- the wrong shape and the wrong color. Where did you get that?” 

"Freddie gave it to me. One of my team members. You remember him? He was..." Steve faltered, voice choking. "He was by my bed. Did you feel him there?"

"I felt something," Tank admitted. "He was one of your friends on your team?" 

"Yeah. Freddie was a frustrated tattoo artist with no outlet, and I was a blank canvas. Which means Freddie saw other soldiers with the lotus tattoo, right? Saw that they got treated differently. And that's where he got the idea to put one on me, and on himself too." 

"That stands to reason," Tank agreed. She lifted Steve’s chin, touching his right earlobe with the other end of the healing instrument. "You got that scar on Rigel 7. The Needle. She held your team for sixteen hours, and put holes in all of you.” 

“She was kind of a sicko,” Steve snorted with the memory. 

Tank dabbed his left eyebrow.

“You got this scar on Poltilova.”

“That op was another lifetime ago,” Steve shuddered. 

“I know who you are. I know you’re you. Every time I see you, you have the same scars in the same places, and a few new ones. That's how I know you’re not one of them,” Tank replied cryptically. Her serious expression only served to further raise Steve's concerns.

"After Gavla, my face was too fucked up for the facial recognition programs to work, and you ID'd me from the beads in my tattoo. Those little beads with my name stamped on them. Can’t you do that with the others, the soldiers with the lotus tattoos?” Steve asked. 

“Their tattoo microbeads don't have names. They only have numbers."

"Why does Central Command need an elite group of soldiers with no names?" 

"I'm not sure we want to know. At first I didn't take the rumors seriously. Thought it was something the old-timers made up to torment the newbies on interstellar missions or outer rim posts.” 

"But then you saw one for yourself?" 

"Yes," she nodded gravely. 

“Did you keep files?” Steve hoped. 

“We’re not allowed to keep the files. Once we’ve confirmed the soldier has the lotus tattoo, we contact Central Command, and we destroy all the files.” 

“Not even a fragment?” 

“The only records that remain are the memories of the tending hospital staff.” 

“But you've heard rumors, and you've seen one of these soldiers for yourself?” 

“One,” she confirmed. "On the Gemini Moons Mining Colony. An earthquake cracked one of the bio-domes, and caused a catastrophic rupture in the life-support systems. Three-quarters of the population was dead before we got there. I managed to pull a Navy boy from the rubble. He had had an oxygen tank nearby when the breach occurred, and had managed to survive the breach, only to get buried in rubble by an aftershock.”

“Go on.” 

“Thomas Weimer. I can still see his face. Steve, he was so young.”

“What happened to him?” 

“He had a mild concussion. I was removing his uniform to examine him for fractures, and I found the lotus tattoo. Coal black. I told him I had to call command. He was okay with that. I made the contact. We waited together for someone to arrive. He talked about his family. Tommy was a little out of it because of the concussion, but I thought… I really thought he would pull through. Command came and retrieved him. They assured me they would have the best medical personnel available to look after him on the trip back to the Academy.”

“What happened?" Steve wondered when Tank trailed off and was reluctant to continue. 

“The next day, the news broadcast listed the dead from mining colony disaster, and Weimer's name was on the list. I was horrified. I contacted Central Command, and I demanded to know what had happened. I had… I had spoken to his mother. I had promised her that her son was coming home to her. All I could see was that poor woman standing at the spaceport, waiting for her baby to come home to her. Command kept shunting me around from one terrified ensign to another. One of them finally sent me the report. Weimer's transport ship had been caught in an explosion at one of the weigh stations on the route back to the Academy.” 

“I’m sorry he didn’t make it but…” 

“But he did make it. He did!" Tank insisted firmly without raising her voice. "Six weeks later, the Nightingale was answering another distress signal, this one from the passenger liner Majestic, in the Stockholm system. They had been bounced out of warp by a passing squadron of Hellwings burning up the travel lanes to get to Gavla.”

“We didn't use the public transit lanes to get to Gavla," Steve frowned. 

"It wasn't your team. Other Naval ships in the quadrant answered the Majestic's mayday along with the Nightingale. We were grateful for every last ship that answered the hail, believe me. We had one hour to evacuate two-thousand passengers from the Majestic. One of the soldiers who aided in the rescue was a dead ringer for Thomas Weimer. He helped me carry twenty-six survivors off the Majestic. He had no signs of concussion injuries. No signs of any injuries. He was a clean slate. The only marks he had on him were basic inoculation imprints. And the young man had no idea who I was."

Steve studied Tank silently. She dabbed at his fingertips. 

"Can you feel that?" Tank barked.

“Sure, I can," Steve lied. "The second soldier you saw could have been Thomas Weimer's brother,” he offered hopefully. 

“Tommy didn’t have a brother. He had a mother, and a sister. He was married to a geologist, and they had a new son. I spent two hours on the com channel with his mother, promising that her son was coming home to her.” Tank's voice got tight. She steeled herself and rubbed one eye sleepily. Steve knew her thoughts were drifting back to her own family, her husband and daughter back on Hawaii.

“How’s Vince?" Steve tried to distract her with happy thoughts. 

"Happy as a pig in mud," Tank reported moodily. 

Steve frowned at Tank's sharp tone, clearly wondering why Tank's husband would be happy that she had been shipped out on a deep space mission. Without him having to ask, Tank continued speaking. 

“Elin is pregnant.” 

“That's great!” Steve beamed. 

“No, Steven. No, it's not," Tank disagreed. Steve attempted another smile. Tank pulled her mouth tight, and her steely eyes got even tighter. McGarrett withered. 

"It's hard to be away from from your family for so long. I understand. Theoretically," he offered timidly. 

“Elin is nineteen. She's not ready to be a mother, let alone have twins.

"How old were you when she was born?"

"Younger. But this is different. She's got three years of astrophysics and piloting school ahead of her before they're going to let her anywhere near the helm of a spaceship. If you think for one second that being a mother isn't going to matter when they're choosing which officers to assign to a deep space mission, guess again. Elin has derailed the rest of her Navy career because she's 'in love' and she wants to have these babies. If I get my hands on that so-called partner of hers, I'm going to forget my oath to heal, not to hurt.” 

“Sorry," Steve said sheepishly. He had a sense Tank was angry with her daughter because she was doing the very same thing that Tank herself had once done, but he had sense enough not to say that out loud. 

“Certainly not your fault,” Tank sighed. Steve sank down even further, looking up at her for a moment before tentatively offering a hug. Tank melted quietly, leaning against him for a moment. "Honey bee, I'm Norwegian. We don't hug. We'll bake you a pie, or build you a transport hanger, but we aren't prone to physical demonstrations of affection."

“No pressure,” Steve mused. 

"Can I trust you to behave yourself for the next six or seven hours, until we figure out what to do with you?” 

“Yes, ma'am.” 

“Good. I don’t want to have to tranquilize you again.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

"Captain on deck!" Rhino bellowed, herding Danno back into sickbay, and shoving him into position on the other side of the doors. Tank snapped upright and saluted, casting nervous eyes at Steve, who followed suit.

"Sir!"

"I see the Commander is in one piece," the middle-aged officer said, dark eyes gleaming with grim amusement. "I may have solved our little transfer problem. Captain Karlsen, if you've got McGarrett patched back together, would you loan him a uniform, and we can have a civilized conversation?" 


	33. Red Lights

“Commander? Are you with me?” 

Steve shook himself back to reality, and focused on the voice. His first impulse was to touch the listening bud in his ear canal. The static feedback was making him itch and twitch like crazy. But his gloved hand impacted with his space helmet, and prevented him from reaching his head at all, let alone touching his ear. Damn helmet. It was like having his head stuck in a fish bowl. 

“Affirmative,” Steve answered. He should have put that earbud in the left ear instead of the right ear. He winced and curled his right shoulder closer, only to bump the helmet again. He wanted to shift the bud as much as he could without shaking it out, but he had only made matters worse. It was just loose enough that it was vibrating now—beautiful! The static feedback must have been caused by the sound waves rebounding off the protective, metal skull cap of the right side of his head. Next time he would remember – put the earbud on the left side, left side, left side. 

McGarrett felt Danno staring at him for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. Those China blue eyes were filled with critical evaluation. Objectively, it must have looked from the outside like McGarrett was squirming and twitching because he was uncomfortable with what they were about to undertake, or because he was hearing voices in his head. He was hearing voices, but that was beside the point! Steve narrowed his eyes at Danno. The detective glanced away, fiddling with the space suit he had been forced to don very much against his will. He glanced out the tiny window in the airlock portal, and lifted his hand to cover the shifting stars lest Steve should see them.

“Okay. Good. Let’s go over this again. It’s always good to review a procedure before you jump right in. Okay, sir?” 

“Go ahead, Ensign,” Steve conceded. Anything to keep the young kid from laughing that… oh, brother. There it was again. That high-pitched, sweaty, nervous chuckle. 

“Okay! The Comfort is going to drop out of warp in ten minutes, twenty-three seconds. We will rendezvous with the USNV Intrepid, and commence with the airlock ship transfer. You will have exactly thirteen minutes to make it from the airlock on the Comfort, through the docking module, and into the airlock on the Intrepid. Is that clear, Commander?” 

“Son, this is not my first airlock ship transfer,” McGarrett replied, his annoyance showing through in spite of his best efforts. Williams was on the verge of butting in with a caustic remark, but he held his tongue. All Danno had to do was raise one brow at Steve, and the SEALIE knew what was going through his partner’s head.

“Yes, sir, Commander. It’s just… it’s just that this is a very delicate operation. The Comfort and the Intrepid have to come together, and firmly attach the docking module before we can open either airlock. We have to align and match each other using only thruster power, keeping aloft and at a minimum rotation, even in response to the gravitational pull from Leviathan. Rather like two ballet dancers, meeting in the middle of the stage, with a bright red and purple spotlight behind them. The gas giant has eight moons in orbit, not to mention twenty-nine observational satellites, one of which may swing close enough to exert its own gravitational pull on both ships. While we’re in position, both ships will be vulnerable, because we’ll have to have shields down. Hence the reason for meeting at Leviathan, because we can use the gas giant to mask both ship signatures until we can separate and raise shields. We will have to maintain position while not tearing the docking module from either side. A tear in the docking module or in either seal would cause a catastrophic decompression of the both airlocks and the module too. Everyone in the airlock or the module would be sucked out into space. Thankfully, death would be instantaneous. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said that? I’m so sorry.” 

“Don’t worry, Ensign. I’m not going to lose my shit on you.” 

Steve forced himself to give a charming smile. There was an inward-facing camera in the white dot above his left eyebrow on the surface of the helmet. Above the right eyebrow was the white dot which contained the outward-facing camera. Somewhere on the bridge of the Comfort, the nervous ensign was monitoring six different cameras, hands shaking, stomach all in knots. He had close-up visuals of Steve's face, Danno's face, the bottom of the portal (Steve's outer view), the porthole in the portal (Danno's outer view), the airlock room, and the exterior of the ship outside the airlock room.

“No, sir, Commander. I didn’t mean to imply that you would,” the youngster on the line stammered. He must not have realized his link was open. He continued talking, but not to Steve or Danno. “Sorry, sir. I’ve done dozens of simulations. Dozens of them. All without incident. But this is my first time live.” 

“Take a deep breath, and concentrate on your displays, Ensign Rogers. This is a simple procedure. The Commander could probably do this with both eyes closed.” 

Steve recognized the voice of Captain Marcus Janeiro. He must have been standing behind the kid, talking him through the process. McGarrett gave a wry smirk. If he had the time to evaluate every member of the Comfort’s crew, in search of the last person he would ever put in charge of a delicate airlock ship transfer, the ensign currently at the panel was the last human being (or android for that matter!) that Steve would have allowed to complete this maneuver. Needless to say, McGarrett didn’t have a choice in the matter. 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have Lieutenant Jenkins doing this?” Rogers squeaked. 

“No, no, no. You’ll be fine, Rogers. You gotta dip your toe in the tank sometime.” 

A shiver whipped through Danno’s sense of danger, quicksilver and icy. Why would Captain Janeiro put an ensign in charge of the console for a procedure this delicate? 

“Hey, Seal Boy. How do I open a private com-link with you?” Williams interrupted the exchange between the ensign and the captain. 

“There’s a band across the front of your helmet at chin level. Stick out your tongue, and touch the green dot on the far left,” McGarrett replied. 

Danno did as he was told, and came back with a tart citrus flavor on the tip of his tongue.

“Can you hear me now?” Williams wondered. 

“Yes,” McGarrett confirmed. “Before you say anything, ‘private’ means only I can hear you in real time, but this conversation is being recorded.” 

“Oh.” 

“There are no private conversations on interstellar naval vessels. Every conversation, keystroke, query, or soliloquy on every ship is recorded. That’s a tip I picked up in Naval Intelligence. Everything is recorded, dispatched back to Central Command, sorted through, analyzed.”

“How long does that take?” 

“It’s an on-going cycle that never stops. The computers are programmed to hunt and peck for specific words, to anticipate danger before an event happens.” 

“How long?” 

“Thirty minutes, tops.” 

Danno blinked in surprise. 

“What’s on your mind?” Steve wondered. 

“Limes.” 

“Beg your pardon?” 

“The sensor. It tasted like limes.” 

“That’s so you can find the correct sensor in the dark, or in situations where you might get turned around and not be able to distinguish left from right. Danno? What do you want?”

“What’s the yellow sensor taste like?” 

“Banana.” 

“The red one?” 

“Sour cherry. Did you not read the instruction manual for the helmet before you put it on?” 

“No, Steven. I didn’t read the instruction manual. You just sorta grabbed my head, grabbed the helmet, and joined the two together.” 

“Seven minutes to rendezvous, sirs,” the ensign interrupted. The ship shifted, and the porthole was swallowed by the purple and red haze from the gas giant Leviathan. The airlock room was bathed in an odd light.

“Affirmative,” Steve replied. 

“I understand that you’re fixated on getting the hell off this ship and back to Hawaii, but the ensign has legitimate concerns.” 

“I’m not going to lose my shit, Danno. Relax, will you?” 

“Relax?!” Danno cackled like a chipmunk. “Easy for you to say.” 

“ ‘M fine.” 

“Babe, you are the furthest thing from fine.” 

“Tank and Rhino patched me up. I’m good to go.” 

Danno lifted one gloved hand, putting the lumpy extremity on Steve’s equally-lumpy right forearm. 

“You’re not the one who sat by for ten hours, watching you toss and turn in your sleep, worried that when you woke up, you would freak out, and claw your way off this tin can. Are you listening to me?” 

“Yeeeees,” McGarrett drew out the word into a rasping exhalation. 

“You jabbed a metal shank through your arm to get out of the therapy room. You are not fine.” 

“I’m fine.”

“You were with Tank for a long time. What did you talk about?” Danno wondered as he covered the porthole again.

“I had a couple questions,” Steve shrugged. 

“Questions about what?” Danno pressed. 

McGarrett looked past Williams towards the pair of officers who were manning the airlock panel. The two men were watching every word that was said, even if they couldn’t hear the conversation. 

“You know, Naval Intelligence taught us how to read lips,” Steve interjected meaningfully. 

“That’s fascinating.” 

“This isn’t a secure link, Danno. I can’t discuss my conversation with Tank here.” 

“You wanna step outside for a private conversation? I know it didn’t take her twenty minutes to sterilize your arm and seal the wounds,” Danno remarked. 

“No.” 

“Are you getting the right amount of meds?” Danno worried. 

“Yes,” Steve nodded. 

“I can’t believe you skipped meds while we’ve been working on this case. Five days, Steve? Five days?” 

“I lost the bottle when I got into that tussle with the Hesse Brothers,” McGarrett muttered. 

“But you’re good now?” 

“I’m good. I’ve had several doses already. I’m great.” 

“You’re a terrible liar,” Danno replied. There was a pregnant pause. Danno slid his hand off Steve’s forearm and fiddled with the controls on the front of his space suit. McGarrett smacked his hands away, and refitted the controls to their former position. 

“Yours are in a different position than mine,” Danno pointed out.

“That’s because I’m taller, I weigh more, I have more muscle mass, my oxygen intake is different, and my body temperature comfort zone is slightly higher than yours.” 

“The Intrepid is coming into range, sir. They’re opening hailing frequencies,” another bridge officer interjected into the conversation from somewhere else. Steve and Danno both lifted their heads, straining to look out the porthole, and bumped their helmets together side by side.

“Good,” Rogers babbled. “Not good. Captain, I’m feeling a little dizzy. Maybe I should… I… no?” 

McGarrett answered before Captain Janeiro could. 

“Pretend it’s a simulation, Ensign. We’re not real. This isn’t real. You’re fine.” 

“Cheese and crackers!” someone else exclaimed. Danno really wished they would identify themselves before they butted in. “Comfort? Intrepid here. We’ll be in range shortly. You got your bags packed, Stevie-boy?!” 

A warm grin blossomed on McGarrett’s face. 

“Scrappy?”

“That’s Commander Nerovny to you.”

“Affirmative, Commander Nerovny.” 

“Captain Janeiro, we’ve got a green light on this end.”

“That’s a go,” Janeiro’s voice came through the com from the bridge. Danno felt that shiver again. He couldn’t understand why they would put an ensign in charge, but have the captain of the ship stand by and watch? Having your most senior commanding officer staring over your shoulder while you performed a maneuver like this would have made Danno too nervous to function, if that were him in the ensign’s place. 

“How are you holding up there, Ensign?” McGarrett asked. 

“Um, great, thanks,” the ensign remarked. “Sir,” he added belatedly, giving another anxious laugh. “Oh God. We’re all gonna die if I mess this up. We'll be sucked out into space.” 

“You won’t die, Ensign, and you won't be sucked out into space. Only Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams, and anything not secured to the floor in the airlock with them,” Janeiro mused with an undeniably malicious whiff to the words. Janeiro’s attempts to calm the ensign were making everyone else upset. Danno watched Steve’s heartrate jump. He rolled his eyes, and shook his head. Across the room, the doors skooshed open. Another person stalked in, holding a space helmet in her grip. The two officers manning the airlock operations panel stood at attention. 

“Ma’am,” they barked. 

“At ease,” Tank ordered. Steve stepped down from the airlock portal, crossing the small room in a couple steps, saluting Tank. 

“Captain?” 

“At ease,” Tank repeated. 

“Why are you suited up?” 

“It appears I'll be joining you. Have I ever told you how much I hate airlock ship transfers? Like stuffing a chubby mouse through a skinny snake. I’m about as far from aerodynamic as it gets.”

“Ma’am?” 

“I lost a full triage team in one. The idiot at the helm put the decimal in the wrong place on his calculations about the decaying gravitational pull of the collapsing planet, which was sucking down the space station in orbit, which was the reason for their distress call. Our docking module developed a stress fracture, and the locks on both sides disengaged to protect the ship and the station from catastrophic decompression. A promising young doctor and three of my best nurses were blown out to their deaths,” Tank complained bitterly. 

“Captain, permission to speak candidly?” Steve requested. 

Tank adjusted her suit controls, checking the oxygen levels and temperature before she slid on her helmet over her skin-tight head covering which hid her short blonde and gray hair. 

“Granted,” she barked, clicking the communication sensors with her chin instead of her tongue. 

“Ma’am, you don’t trust me to complete a simple airlock ship transfer without a babysitter?” Steve frowned. Tank’s brows went up, and Steve’s head dropped. He stared at her big boots. “No insult intended, ma’am.” 

“I’m not here to babysit you. I received transfer orders. Came in ten minutes ago. I was told to rendezvous with the Intrepid, and they would drop me at my new post. No time to pack.” 

“Where are they sending you?” 

“It’s so classified even I don’t know,” Tank responded with a snort.

“But the Comfort was a new post for you, wasn’t it?” Steve puzzled as Tank stalked with him to the airlock portal. 

“It was.” Tank’s tone was frosty and irritated. 

“Why would they transfer you this quickly from a new post?” Steve asked, hanging one hand on the metal bars which went around the airlock portal. Presumably the bars were used as hand-holds to enter or exit the ship when the docking procedure was completed, and the module was in place. 

“That’s the Navy for you, honey bee,” Tank chuckled. She was putting on a good face, but it was clear she was as puzzled as he was. They exchanged a meaningful glance, both hanging onto the metal bars. Tank frowned as she stared out the porthole.

“Two minutes to docking procedure. Stand by,” the ensign announced. 

“You’re the head nurse in sickbay. What’s the Comfort going to do without you?” Danno asked, hoping to make small talk for the next 120 seconds so he wouldn’t have to think about the risky procedure he was able to complete whether he liked it or not. 

“Rhino will do fine without me. It’s time for him to take off his training wheels,” Tank fussed. 

“Why do you guys call him Rhino?” Danno wondered. He reached for the bar opposite where Steve was hanging now with both hands as the ship around them vibrated noticeably. Tank stood between Steve and Danno, directly in front of the portal itself. Steve reached out, snagged her waist, and pulled her over to his side of the portal. He scooted right up against the wall so Tank would not be standing in front of the portal when it opened. 

“Dropping out of warp,” Rogers announced. His comments were interspersed in their exchange at on-going intervals. 

“Ryan O’Dwyer,” Steve said. 

“Ry’n O’Dwyer,” Tank nodded. 

“I don’t…” Danno shook his head in confusion. 

“There’s the Intrepid.”

“Right on time.” The remark must have come from Captain Janeiro. 

“…understand,” Danno continued. 

“Rhino,” Steve shrugged again. Tank nodded in agreement. 

“He’s been ‘Rhino’ since his first five minutes in the Navy,” Tank added. 

“Ry-an. O. Rhino,” Steve demonstrated. Danno’s face lit up, and then he winced in actual pain. 

“That's awful. Do you all have nicknames?” Danno wondered. 

“By and large,” Tank nodded. 

“Commencing docking procedure in five… four… three… two… one…” 

“Steady as she goes, helm.” 

Danno stopped attempting to identify the voices, letting them all blend together. The only thing he could really focus on was his heart beating through his chest. He watched the tiny red dot on his own space suit as it sped up. Steve watched the closed portal. Was it Danno’s imagination, or was there a shadow out there where there hadn’t been one before? If he was seeing a shadow, that meant there must have been a light source near by. Light from that source was bouncing off Leviathan in the foreground. But the porthole was growing dark now. 

The ship shifted perceptibly. There was a metallic thumping against the vessel, around the portal. Steve touched the closest part of the oval ring as red lights traced around, turning yellow, and then green. All except for one quadrant at the bottom right. That could not be good. Steve poked at the red lights.

“Docking procedure complete. Ready to evacuate the airlock,” Rogers chirped. 

“Ensign, stop!” McGarrett warned. 

“Commander?” 

Danno saw Steve mouth the word ‘poino’ over and over as he yanked out his right arm and attached a cord from his space suit to the bar above his head.

“What’s the problem, Commander?” Janeiro questioned. 

“The seal with the docking module isn’t secure. The lower right quadrant didn’t attach correctly,” Steve responded. The heart beat indicator on his chest wavered. He reached over to Danno, seized the cord on Williams’ spacesuit, and attached it securely to the metal bar over Danno’s head. Tank completed the same procedure barely a second behind. 

“Are you sure? The sensors here all say the docking module is in place, and the seal is secure,” Captain Janeiro replied coolly. “Commander? Check again.” 

McGarrett bent down to examine the lower opposite side of the door, next to Danno’s knees, watching the red lights flickering ominously. Across the room, the two officers at the operations panel were going over their instruments as well. 

“All of our readings indicate the seal is secure, Commander,” one of them answered. He gave the other officer at the panel a knowing glance. McGarrett frowned sourly as he watched the two officers at the operational panel whispering to each other.

“We should disengage and re-establish the connection,” McGarrett decided firmly. 

“Could the lights be malfunctioning?” Danno suggested. 

“Do you want to take that chance?” McGarrett demanded. “Captain, sir, I recommend we disengage the module, and re-establish the connection.” 

"Our readings indicate the seal is secure," the red-clad panel operator complained. 

“Understood. Intrepid, did you hear?” Janeiro asked.

“Yes, Captain. I agree with the Commander’s suggestion. Better safe than sorry.” 

“Ensign, release the coupling mechanism, and re-establish the connection,” Janeiro ordered. 

“Affirmative, sir.” 

Steve stood up and held onto the reinforced metal bar with both hands, elbows aloft, blocking his view out the porthole. He was watching the lights around the portal turn red in succession. The shadow drifted back from the door. The weird purple and red light was visible, with a noticeable umber shadow in the middle. 

“Rogers?!” one of the officers at the operational panel across the room shouted. 

“Fuck,” Danno whispered. He was closest, and felt the heavy “thunk” first, the shift of metal moving against metal as the portal began to slide open.

McGarrett barked “Danno!” 

Tank whirled, eyes wide, to shout a warning at the two officers by the operations panel. She didn’t get the syllable out. The portal had cracked open. The lights blinked white and red in a chain-reaction warning. Then the portal wasn’t there. Danno wasn’t sure if it had gotten pulled off, or out, or if it had slipped into the wall like it was supposed to do. For a split second, Danno could see a sliver, the smallest crescent of the docking module, and then blackness of space before all hell broke loose.

Alarms lit up at once all around the small airlock room. Gaseous winds whipped past them with an unimaginable force. Tank smashed into Danno, and flattened him to the wall, whether by purpose or by design, keeping them both pinned there. He wasn't sure if she had been pulled, or pushed, or had jumped, but she was solid and heavy, and he could barely breathe. Their cords were stretched from the metal bars to the wall, so they had a fail-safe if they were pulled from the wall, but still!!

Something struck the open portal on its way out of the vessel, and it wasn’t Steve. The blurs that rushed past had been wearing red uniforms, and the three spacesuits were all grayish white. Whoever it had been simply wasn’t anymore. The only traces left were the smears which marred the steel-gray rim, covering parts of the flashing red warning lights in a grim biological soup. 

Tank lowered her head. Sadness was replaced by determination. She held on tight to Danno. She struggled to lift her right hand, whirled her right glove, and a purple light went out around her wrist. Danno peered over her shoulder as she activated the same light around her other wrist, her left boot, and then her right boot. How had she activated the lights, and what was their purpose? Danno watched his own extremities. No purple lights. What the hell? He looked across the portal to where Steve should have been, to ask what the purple light was, but Steve wasn't there. 

Where was Steve?! Danno spotted a shape on the ceiling of the room by zeroing in on the purple lights in the wind-whipped, dust-and-debris-filled vortex. McGarrett was straining to crawl across the ceiling, hanging by one arm, legs and lower body being pulled towards the open portal before he activated the purple lights and hugged himself flat to the ceiling again. 

Did the purple lights activate a magnetic field? Was there a magnetic field that could resist the drag of deep space decompression? Danno would have fiddled with his own gloves and boots, but for fear of detaching one, and then losing a hand or a foot in the resulting decompression of his spacesuit. 

The cord that stretched between Steve and the metal bar above the portal was keeping McGarrett from moving any further across the ceiling. Each tug was tightening the cord, and it had reached its limit. 

“No, no, no!” Tank warned, but Steve didn’t hear her. McGarrett bumped one hip against the ceiling, and the cord retracted towards Tank and Danno. The frayed end was sucked out the open portal like silver spaghetti. 

“Steve?!” Danno was shouting even though he knew McGarrett couldn’t hear him over the rushing winds. He gaped in horror out of the ship, towards the looming gas giant and the ungainly shape of the Intrepid. It was a beautiful view, no denying that, but one he would have preferred to have seen in a simulator or a hologram, and not with vortex winds sucking him closer to his doom.

McGarrett was lowering his legs towards the airlock operating panel. Danno understood what he was up to, but couldn’t understand why there wasn’t an operating panel on the wall beside the airlock, for just such emergencies. Shouldn't there have been a panel over here too?! The console was wobbling in the winds, in danger of being ripped from the floor. McGarrett was going to get sucked out! Steve got one long leg down on the console, and then the purple lights on his gloves went out. His plan was probably to pull himself down to the panel with the leg he had attached there. His body had other ideas. McGarrett was levitating in the vortex except for the one leg attached to the console, three other limbs flailing towards the open portal. He looked like he was frozen backwards mid-leap. Then he got his other leg down. The purple light attached his second boot to the panel. He squatted down on the panel like a large gray-white frog, and his gloves danced across the instrument panel. 

Just as quickly as it had gone to hell, the environment in the airlock stabilized, and the vortex evaporated with a messy gush of sound. The portal slammed shut, silencing the gale-force winds, and shearing off the frayed end of Steve's cord. Then the shadow returned. Green lights came to life around the airlock portal, cheerful and bright. McGarrett had managed to close the portal at almost the same time the Intrepid had managed to make a secure seal with the docking module. 

Danno slid down the wall, panting heavily, as Steve dropped out of the air. He was draped ingloriously over the panel, butt in the air, attempting to pull himself upright. Tank deactivated the purple lights around her gloves and boots, and hugged Danno protectively before springing into action, detaching both their cords from the metal bars. Danno's cord was sucked back to his side with a painful thwack! The corridor door to the airlock room jumped open. Several soldiers in spacesuits hurried in, took a cursory examination of the situation, and pulled off their helmets. 

“All clear, sir!” one of them shouted. 

“All clear,” echoed around from soldier to soldier as Captain Janeiro strode into the airlock room, face red with anger. McGarrett had managed to right himself. There was a jagged crack running the breadth of his space helmet. He jumped to attention, eyes glued to the trailing crack instead of Janeiro's angry face. Tank jumped to attention too, even while putting a supportive hand on Steve’s side. 

Spacesuit-clad forms were emerging from the metal tunnel connecting the Intrepid to the Comfort. One of them yanked off his helmet, and bellowed loudly into the room. 

“Crackers and cheese, man! What kind of degenerate reprobate have you got manning the docking panel?” 

Without responding to the barb, the captain poked Steve in the chest with one extended index finger. 

“McGarrett, get your ass off my ship!”

“Gladly, Captain!” 

McGarrett bolted. He snatched Danno’s arm and shoved him ahead. Steve scampered through the connecting module, dragging Danno by one arm like a teddy bear. They boarded the Intrepid in a matter of six minutes and three seconds. And it only took that long because Tank had exited the Comfort with much more dignity than McGarrett was currently able to muster. Danno suspected she had had a couple parting words for Captain Janeiro.

Once inside the safety of the Intrepid's airlock, the SEALIE collapsed down on the ground, put his back against the wall, and removed his cracked helmet. He was panting for breath as he shed the head covering, and shook out the earbud tormenting his right ear. Tank entered the Intrepid’s airlock, and yanked off her helmet, which she hurled violently as she howled with fury. The helmet whipped around the room like a soccer ball. It skipped over Danno, and smacked Steve in the head on the way past. The soldier who emerged from the docking module next snatched the bouncing sphere out of the air, and tucked it calmly to one hip. 

“Karlsen. McGarrett. You, buddy, whatever the hell your name is. On my mark. Now,” Nerovny ordered, handing Tank back her helmet.

McGarrett hauled himself up, and opened his mouth to speak. 

“Not one syllable, Doggie,” Nerovny warned. 

“Yes, sir,” Steve barked in reply.  

"Permission to disengage, sir?" Nerovny pounded on a panel and shouted at the same time. 

"Granted, Scrappy," came the miserable reply. It was followed by a congested sniff. "Is Tank there?" 

"Safe and sound," Nerovny answered. The portal closed. The docking module was retracting. "Good to go, Captain." 

"Brilliant. You know where to find me." 

"Aye, Captain," Nerovny nodded. He motioned McGarrett and Williams into the corridor. Tank trailed behind. "Welcome aboard," he added with a sarcastic snort.


	34. I See Spots

“Where are you taking us?” Danno asked as he struggled to keep up with the long-legged Naval officers. He was surprised that Tank was lagging behind him though. 

Bringing up the rear were the other soldiers who had come through the docking module. They were younger than Danno might have expected, had indistinct blue uniforms, and forgettable faces. Nerovny gave the young men a silent look over one shoulder. The young soldiers nodded in reply to the unspoken command. They disappeared into separate corridors without missing a beat, moving like well-oiled machines. 

“Up ahead, left, then right, then full stop,” Nerovny ordered. Steve tilted his head, gave the gaunt officer a strange glance, and yet followed with a polite shrug. 

“Ma’am, are you unharmed?” McGarrett asked. 

“Yes,” Tank answered gruffly. 

“You’re favoring your right leg.” 

“I’m fine, honey bee.”

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Congestion, runny nose, irritability, sensitivity to light, or he would have met us in the airlock as per protocol. Commander Nerovny, how long has your captain been ill?” Tank demanded. 

“Since he crossed paths last week with a soothsayer from LaFourche,” Nerovny replied, ducking the next low-hanging bulkhead with uncanny ease. “Our captain is confined to an isolation unit, as is our illustrious guest.” 

“What guest would that be?” Tank wondered. 

“The soothsayer.” 

“What’s wrong with them?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea, ma’am.”

“Where’s your chief medical officer?” Tank worried. 

“We’re taking every precaution,” Nerovny insisted. 

“I’m sure you are, but I’d like a word with your CMO,” Tank requested again. Nerovny twitched uncomfortably. 

“That won’t be possible.” 

“Why not?” Tank demanded. 

“Dr. Bonne is no longer with us.”

“Was he called away?” Danno asked. If their current CMO had been reassigned, that might explain Tank's reassignment. 

“In a manner of speaking.” Nerovny’s cagey reply, and the lift of his right eyebrow, left no doubt in Danno’s mind that something untoward and likely fatal had happened to the unfortunate Dr. Bonne. 

“Your head nurse then?” Tank persisted. 

Nerovny motioned to the ceiling with one hand. 

“You’re free to have any conversation you would like to have with ‘her’. Mother is doing the best she can, under the circumstances. She wasn’t programmed to function as a chief medical officer or a head nurse either. I’ve downloaded as many human medical files as I can without drawing suspicion from Central Command, but we haven’t been able to determine what’s wrong with Captain Clarke.”

Nerovny ducked blind through another low-hanging junction. Danno reached for Steve’s arm, and gave him a piercing stare. McGarrett’s only response was a slow, nervous smile, and a gentle pat on Danno’s shoulder. 

“Your mother is the head nurse?” Danno asked quietly. His question floated unanswered into the dim corridor ahead. When Nerovny didn’t answer, Danno hoped Steve would answer, but there was no response from McGarrett either.

Green lights approached, rolling along at knee-level. Danno stepped aside out of habit, watching the rug-cleaning bot roll towards them. Someone in their group was whistling an ancient sea chanty. Danno scanned faces – it wasn’t Tank, Nerovny, or McGarrett. Danno realized with surprise that the bot was whistling merrily. Who in the world programmed carpet-scrubbers to whistle? Nerovny patted the bot affectionately on the top of its head. 

“Morning, Robbie.” 

“Morning, Commander,” the bot beeped. 

“You’re up early.” 

“Idle hands, Commander,” the bot chirped. 

“Carry on,” Nerovny smiled. 

“Yes, sir!” the bot bubbled back. 

“Commander. Full stop,” Tank blurted. Nerovny and Robbie rotated their heads towards her in simultaneous curiosity. 

“Yes, ma’am,” Nerovny answered, turning, bowing slightly, using both arms to lean on the next low-hanging bulkhead. Tank watched the bot trundle away. Robbie reached the junction. It turned right. It started whistling again, the sound of which seemed to drift away from them. 

“Commander, let’s stop pussy-footing around. Why did the Intrepid answer the hail from the Comfort when you knew that your ship’s crew had been exposed to an unknown illness? Why is the Intrepid here, at the right place, at the right time, to be the first ship available to answer a hail that we didn’t expect any response to for at least another twelve hours?” Tank asked pointedly. 

Nerovny gulped loudly. Tank’s directness was making him look and feel shifty. He lifted his eyes to Steve, who faced Tank and struggled for the right words. Danno stood in the middle of the corridor, arms crossed over his chest. Steve started to speak for Nerovny, but Tank silenced him with one glance and one finger. 

“The truth, Commander. Or there will be repercussions,” Tank warned. 

“As you wish, ma’am. The truth is, the Intrepid has been following the Comfort since you entered the Blackwater Nebula, hanging just out of sensor range. More than that, I am not at liberty to divulge, ma’am. My captain should be present for the rest of this conversation.” 

“Commander, what is the Intrepid’s current mission?” Tank asked. There was a formal sound to the question and her tone. 

“Ma’am…” Steve cautioned. Tank raised her index finger higher, and McGarrett withered back in concern. 

Danno felt a tickle on his leg. Robbie the rug-cleaning bot had returned, running silent past Danno. It rolled straight for Nerovny, and whirled around on a dime. Robbie was perfectly placed between the commander and the three strangers, and it was no longer whistling happily. Was Danno imagining it, or were those little green lights darkening in color as a display of anger?

“Robbie, what are you doing?” Nerovny asked. 

“Do these spots require cleaning?” Robbie inquired. 

“Robbie. There are no spots.”

“Spots, Commander. I see spots,” Robbie insisted. The little green lights in its face were narrowing to pinpoints. Nerovny put a hand on Robbie’s top again. Whether it was a gesture of gentleness, or a vain attempt to have a hand hold on the bot just in case – that was open to interpretation. 

“Robbie. Off you go. That’s an order,” Nerovny said slowly and carefully. Steve’s hand was riding low down his thigh, settling right where his laser pistol should have been. It came up empty. He rubbed his disappointed fingers against his thigh, and gave Nerovny a concerned stare. 

“Yes, sir,” the rug-cleaner responded. 

As Robbie bustled away down the corridor, a tiny compartment door slid open on its side. A rotary scrubber extended out just in time to give the edge of Danno’s leg a rough tickle. Williams darted aside rather further than necessary. Robbie reached the junction, turned right, and stopped. The bot rolled backwards into the middle of the junction. Stopped. Put the rotary scrubber down to the ground. It rubbed back and forth, back and forth, aimlessly washing an already clean section of carpet. Its green lights were focused unnervingly on the humans. 

“Nerovny, what is the Intrepid’s mission in this quadrant?” Tank asked. 

“We are gathering intel from the observational satellites in orbit around Leviathan.”

Tank listened quietly, her stern face getting tighter and tighter. If Danno were any judge of character, her 'bullshit-o-meter' was sensing deflection full tilt.

“You picked up our transmission, and responded at once?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Just your luck the Comfort is a hospital ship, being as you’re in need of both a chief medical officer and a head nurse,” Danno interjected carefully. 

“Lucky. Uh huh,” Nerovny agreed. He shifted his feet, and his eyes pleaded with Steve to intervene. McGarrett scratched his chin, and stepped through the junction, patting Nerovny’s shoulder. 

“Why don’t we stow the questions for now, and see how Captain Clarke is feeling?” McGarrett suggested. “Robbie? Carry on,” Steve added. 

Danno glanced around. Robbie was less than a foot behind them all again. The bot’s rotary scrubber was out front, held aloft against its side like a knight might carry a shield. Another mechanical extension was perched over the top of the rotary scrubber. Whatever that had been, it was retracted in a flash. Danno hadn’t had a very good look at it, only a second or two really, but he could not dismiss the first question which crossed his mind. 

_Why would a carpet-scrubbing bot have a hypodermic injector in its cleaning kit?_

 

 


	35. The Isolation Ward

“Captain Clarke? Why aren’t you in the medical bay?” Tank worried as she stepped through the heavy metal portal which brought them into the brig of the ship. 

“Commander Nerovny was kind enough to set up a temporary isolation ward here for me.” 

The thin man behind the protective clear wall was chortling softly as he sat up in bed, spilling blankets, used tissues, and an actual paperback novel onto the cold gray floor. 

“What’s wrong with the one in the medical bay?” Tank demanded. Her bullshit-o-meter was going off the charts now. 

“Ma’am, I am ever so happy to see your face. McGarrett too, and your friend, but Tank. Ma’am. Captain Karlsen. What a pleasure it is to see your face.”

“Have we met before?” Tank asked skeptically. 

“When I was stationed on the Svefndreki. We were building the geothermal processing plants on Reykjavik. Your medical ship brought food and aid when one of the intrepid geniuses in our crew managed to set himself and the entirety of our provisions and supplies on fire.” 

“Ah. The Svefndreki. It’s coming back to me. You were shorter then.”

“That’s the beauty of being a robotics engineer, and finding yourself in need of artificial legs. You can make any necessary adjustments.” 

“You stayed on active duty after your injuries?” Steve marveled.

“The Navy found they had a use for my specialized skills. That's a tale for another time. You can imagine my relief yesterday when the Intrepid intercepted the Comfort’s signal, and I realized you were on board, ma’am.” 

Captain Clarke bowed to Tank, then gathered up his blankets in a shroud around his form, and sat down on the ground in front of the clear wall. He cleared his phlegmy throat, coughed to clear his voice, and smiled broadly at all of them, but mostly Tank. 

“So good to see you.” 

Captain Clarke beamed, honest happiness in his dreary features. His blue uniform was dingy. His face was covered with a week’s worth of gray and white stubble. He was as gaunt as Nerovny, but sunken in around the edges. The whole damned ship felt starved. But for what? Danno wasn’t sure if Tank’s bullshit-o-meter had calmed down, but his sense of impending doom was ramping up with every passing millimeter that Captain Clarke’s creepy smile widened. 

“Where is your soothsayer, the one who infected you with this mysterious illness?” Tank asked as Nerovny paced around. Was it Danno’s imagination, or was Nerovny checking out the doors, the hatches, the air ducts, watching the other two entrances into this corridor? The commander was running his fingers along a square patch on the wall which looked like it had been welded shut, more than once, from the other side. Or perhaps not welded shut. Maybe welded open? 

“The soothsayer is ensconced in the cell next door, but it’s been several hours since I last heard her mumble. I’m worried she may have succumbed to the contagion she did cast upon me.” 

“Captain, what happened to your chief medical officer?” Tank wondered. 

“Dr. Bonne is no longer with us. He left his medical kit there against the back wall though,” Clarke pointed. 

McGarrett stooped to pick the pack up and bring it to Tank. As he dragged the pack into the dim light emitted from inside Clarke’s makeshift isolation unit, the reddish castoff droplets which covered the medical pack became visible. Danno analyzed them, and his heartbeat monitor on his spacesuit thumped loudly. Those were blood splatters from a life and death struggle. He let his eyes travel up the wall against which the kit had been resting. He could barely make out the corresponding castoff droplets sprayed from floor to ceiling. Someone had severed an artery, judging from the distance those droplets travelled. But not the carotid artery. Something lower to the ground. Femoral artery, perhaps? 

Danno’s eyes went to Steve, who immediately looked to Nerovny for an explanation. The commander was slinking back into the dark shadows, eyes on the floor. Tank noticed the splatter, but did not react. She lifted the front of the pack and dug around inside. 

“I trust you have everything you need to diagnose my symptoms?” Clarke added, a hitch to his voice, a twitch to his shifty eyes. 

“I can’t get a good reading through this barrier,” Tank complained, restarting the medical sensor device in her grip and waiting for it to reboot. “Is this malfunctioning? It’s only reading four life signs in the room.” 

“How is the soothsayer?” Steve called out to Nerovny, who was peering into the cell next door with much consternation on his face. 

“Not well,” Nerovny called back. 

“Four life signs? Are you sure?” Danno stood up straight, and bustled over to Tank. He peered over her shoulder, but she was rebooting the machine again. 

“She’s dead?” Steve clarified with Nerovny. 

“Four?” Danno questioned as he turned to glare between Nerovny and McGarrett. 

“Maybe she’s sleeping very deeply,” Nerovny offered. 

“Don’t be flip, young man!” Tank scolded. “I’ve lost quite enough people today! Is she dead, or is she alive?”

“Dead,” Nerovny replied timidly. 

“Oh, dear,” Captain Clarke paled. 

“What happened on the Comfort was not your fault, ma’am,” Steve interceded for Nerovny, who looked undeniably hang-dog because of Tank's sharp tone. 

“It wasn’t Ensign Rogers’ fault either, but he will carry the guilt to his grave,” Tank responded. 

The medical reader had rebooted. Tank used it to scan around the brig, past Steve, Danno, herself, and Captain Clarke behind his glass wall. She lowered the device, and stared pointedly at Nerovny. 

“It’s not malfunctioning, is it?” Tank asked the commander. 

“No, ma’am,” Nerovny offered meekly.

“You two have a lot of explaning ahead of you, but for now, we'll focus on diagnosing you,” Tank said sternly as she turned the sensor device back on Clarke. “Captain, what is the Intrepid’s primary mission in this quadrant?” she asked. 

“Nominally, the Intrepid is here to gather information from the observational satellites around Leviathan. Beyond that, we’re also a mobile listening station for the entire quadrant. We gather all transmissions, package them, and ship them back to Naval Command,” Captain Clarke finally answered. 

“How big is the standard crew of a vessel this size?” Tank pressed. Clarke delayed her with a heavy coughing spell which had her clicking buttons and tisking. Nerovny was timidly hovering, clearly worried about Captain Clarke. 

"Can we get you anything?" Steve asked solicitously. He turned to reach for the door back to the hallway, and Nerovny meeped in alarm, shaking his head, moving to keep Steve in the brig. Danno's sense of impending doom was burning a pit in his stomach. Why in the world was Steve _smiling_?? 

“You’re a mobile listening post and a transfer station for transmissions in this quadrant,” Tank nodded. “You could carry two-hundred-person crew. But you could also operate this vessel with a chimpanzee and two trainees.”

“Cheese and crackers! There’s no need to be insulting, ma’am,” Nerovny interjected gruffly. 

“Was the rest of your crew levelled by the unknown virus? Are they confined to their quarters? Did you transport them to a nearby medical facility?” Tank pressed.

“There are no nearby medical facilities, or we wouldn’t be in this predicament,” Captain Clarke replied coolly, the polite façade slipping ever so slightly. 

“Where are the rest of your people, Captain? I have only seen six crew members since we came onboard. I need to know how many people I’m going to have to treat until we reach a facility which can render aid and assistance.”

“You have but one patient. Me. I have removed everyone else from danger.” 

Tank blinked at Clarke as she digested the implications of his remark.

“You manufactured my transfer message, didn’t you? You needed the services of a crack medical team, but you couldn’t risk kidnapping several people. So you settled for one. You responded to our message about Commander McGarrett in order to spring that fake transfer message on me,” Tank decided. 

Captain Clarke leaned against the glass, suppressing a mild cough and a chuckle at the same time. Steve moved quietly and almost imperceptibly closer to the head nurse. It was like he was right next to her side without anyone noticing he had moved at all. He was frowning at Captain Clarke, and bristling protectively next to Tank.

“My apologies, ma’am. It was necessary. I am in grave need of your assistance,” Clarke bowed again. "I won't keep you any longer than necessary."

“You aren't going to placate me with soothing words, sir. There’s more going on here than you’re saying,” Tank accused. 

“I took advantage of a lucky situation which fell into my lap,” Clarke admitted. “Commander McGarrett needs to get back to Hawaii. I need a doctor.”

“I’m a nurse,” Tank reminded him curtly. 

“You’ll do.” Clarke’s expression dripped with dark and droll amusement. 

“I'm more than happy to treat someone in need of my assistance,” Tank conjured words from deep in her chest. “But I will have the full truth, sir, every bit of it. If this was only a matter of fearing the spread of an unknown contagion, there would have been no need to stoop to subterfuge.” 

Danno was watching their conversation like a tennis match before he blurted a question of his own. 

“Why isn’t Nerovny in any danger from this unknown contagion?”

“I’ve been inoculated with superior virus protection,” Nerovny replied. Steve snickered softly in spite of his attempts to keep silent and still. He put a hand on Danno’s arm to quiet his question, shaking his head slightly. Nerovny tightened up, lifting a hand to his right ear. "Incoming packet, sir,” Nerovny continued. 

“Go ahead,” Clarke insisted. 

Danno wasn’t sure how Nerovny was listening to the transmission. Was he still wearing his earbud? It actually looked like he was reading the message. He focused his eyes on the far wall, and they moved left to right, left to right. 

“There is only one message. It's for Commander McGarrett from the Governor of Hawaii. It’s marked ‘private’,” Nerovny reported. 

“How did Jameson know where to find me?” Steve wondered.

“Undoubtedly, you have a tracking device somewhere on your person, and the governor knows your code,” Captain Clarke interjected, eyes twinkling with mirth. 

“All Naval personnel are equipped with tracking devices,” Tank interjected. 

“I’m no longer on active duty.”

“Owing to your propensity for finding yourself in mortal danger, I thought it prudent to leave your tracking device in place,” Tank admitted. 

“Permission to read the transmission contents?” Nerovny asked. 

“Granted,” Steve murmured. 

“The Governor wants you to rendezvous with her ship at 12:30 hours tomorrow afternoon. She has sent the appropriate coordinates.”

“Jameson has a ship?” Danno’s brows went up.

“She was on her way to a conference in New Delhi, remember? Rachel was going to go with her, on her way to London Prime, to be home for her mother’s birthday,” Steve reminded him gently. 

“Governor Jameson says this is a direct order. Don’t even think of disregarding her. She will have your ass if you aren’t there at the time and place specified,” Nerovny relayed with a tiny smirk. 

“Sure, why don’t we take a derelict ship filled with an unknown contaminant to a highly-populated star system, where several world leaders are holding diplomatic talks?” Tank quipped. 

“Commander, make haste to obey the Governor’s orders. We don’t want to raise any further suspicions,” Captain Clarke ordered. 

“Yes, Captain. Where should I…” Nerovny asked, motioning to Steve and Danno. 

“Show them around the ship. Get them some food. A comfortable place to sleep. They’ll be fine. By the by, have you seen Robbie today?”

“In the corridor,” Nerovny answered. 

“Why?” Danno wondered. 

“No reason,” Clarke answered, voice tight with nervous concern. "He keeps coming in here, looking for spots to clean." 

“Captain, I assure you. You are in the safest place on the ship,” Nerovny replied, tapping the clear glass. 

"The crafty little bastard found a welding torch. What's he going to think of next?" Clarke snarled at Nerovny before righting himself, putting his smile back in place. 

"You're perfectly safe, sir," the commander promised. "You of all people." 

"I'm not just worried about myself, you know? I'm worried about you too," Clarke mourned sorrowfully. His penitent tone seemed real enough. 

“You’re worried about me?” Nerovny questioned, a bit misty-eyed at the whole idea of it. “Are you getting sentimental, sir? Most unlike you.” 

“What an awful thing to say! There isn’t a sentimental bone in my body, as you well know,” Clarke mused to himself like it was a private joke. “Keep a close eye on our guests. Give Captain Karlsen a weapon, and bolt the door on your way out.” 

“Why does she need a weapon?” Danno wondered. Everyone in the brig looked directly at the castoff blood splatter which covered the back wall. 

“Perhaps a sonic screwdriver would be more appropriate?” Tank murmured darkly. Was she in on the joke?

“Will you be all right, Tank?” Steve asked. 

“McGarrett, get out of here before I punch you in the face, and then I have to fix your nose again,” Tank smiled at him. 

"I'm gonna take that as a yes. But you call me if you need anything," Steve insisted. 

"I will," Tank promised. 

Nerovny slipped Tank a laser pistol, and herded Danno and Steve out of the brig. The heavy metal door pulled itself shut.


	36. Mechanical Issues

“Where are you taking us?” Danno asked, feeling more than a little bit of déjà vu as he and Steve followed Commander Nerovny through the dim corridors of the Intrepid. Williams couldn’t decide if the ship was asleep, or lying in wait. It was eerily quiet, except for a strange hum coming from all around. Every time they crossed a junction, he felt like they were being watched. But darting looks left and right revealed nothing more than an empty corridor. 

“First I need to check in on the bridge, but then I’ll settle you into some quarters.”

“Did you reply to Governor Jameson’s transmission?” Steve asked. 

“What message should I relay?” Nerovny inquired. 

“Tell her I’m proceeding to the designated coordinates with all due haste.”

“As you wish,” Nerovny agreed. 

“Have you got a relay station in your head?” Danno joked. 

Nerovny raised a brow as he touched his ear (so he must have been wearing an earbud?) The commander stared pointedly at Steve, who was watching Danno with a pitying, sad face. 

“You haven’t told him, have you?” Nerovny asked McGarrett. 

“Not yet,” Steve admitted. 

“Why not?” 

“He’s got issues,” Steve whispered.

“I don’t have issues,” Danno snapped, wondering which issues in particular Steve was referencing. 

“One of those people, is he?” Nerovny asked with a hint of a smirk. “Message transmitted and received.” 

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” 

“No, really. I mean it. Thank you.” 

“I live to serve,” Nerovny whispered, voice grating with sarcasm and darkness.

“Commander, what did Captain Clarke do with the crew?” Steve asked as they stepped into an elevator. 

“The crew is safe.”

"I know they're safe. But you have to tell me where they are. I know you. I know you wouldn't harm them. And not just because you can't harm them." 

Nerovny gave a sad smile, and nodded quietly to Steve. "The crew is safe," he promised again.

“Except for Dr. Bonne?” Steve pressed.

“Except for Dr. Bonne. And the medical staff. And the odd yeoman or two," Nerovny admitted slowly. McGarrett nodded along, not responding angrily. "I came up with the best solution I could on short notice. I marooned the crew on B9, one of the observational satellites. I warn you – they were mighty angry. I had no choice but to disable their communications array."

"You just left them there?!" Danno barked. Steve winced, putting a hand on Danno's arm to shush him. 

"I saw to their immediate physical needs. I left all the ship's provisions, except enough to sustain Captain Clarke for a few weeks. Don't worry, Detective Williams. It's temporary. Once I've solved our little mechanical issues, I'll go back for the crew.”

“That's not good enough. We should send word, and let someone know where the crew is,” Danno interjected. 

“Which will bring the authorities down on our heads…” Nerovny pointed out. "No. They must remain where they are until I figure out how to fix this."

“Why would you maroon the crew? Mechanical issues? The ship seems fine to me. I don’t understand,” Danno muttered. “That seems a drastic measure to take to protect your crew from an unknown contagion. Give them a broad-spectrum inoculation, and be done with it.” 

“It wasn't just a matter of protecting them from the unknown contagion. The mechanical issues are ship-wide. The crew's lives were in danger,” Nerovny admitted. He sent pleading eyes in Steve's direction. Danno understood -- he was asking too many probing questions, and Nerovny was getting twitchy. Danno wasn't about to back off though. He had detected a whiff of panic, and he was going to go right for the neck.

“Why do you two keep looking at each other like you can communicate telepathically? What in the heck is going on?!” Danno exclaimed. 

A voice came alive from the ceiling of the ship’s lift. 

“Commander Nerovny. Please report.”

“I'm here, Mother.” 

“Do you require assistance, Commander Nerovny?” 

“No, Mother. I’m fine.” 

“I am scanning the two humans in your company. Please stand by.” 

“Oh, crap,” Nerovny whispered fearfully. Steve’s eyebrows went through his hairline, and dropped again to their normal level. 

“I can feel her scanning me. Is that normal?” McGarrett asked. Nerovny made a subtle hand sign down at his side. Steve’s brows bunched up, and he fell silent. 

“Lieutenant Commander Steven John McGarrett, United Systems Naval Reserve Officer, Senior Member of the Special Crime Prevention Task Force, Hawaii. Welcome to the Intrepid.” 

“Thank you, Mother,” Steve replied politely. He all but choked on the last word.

Danno felt a rumble wash through his stomach and chest, as though he was standing too close to a purring heavy construction machine, or, say, he had gotten too close to the underbelly of a military transport carrier. He reached out sideways, and gripped the wall of the elevator and Steve’s arm at the same time. 

“Detective Sergeant Daniel Albert Williams, Member of the Interstellar Law Enforcement Fraternity, and Junior Member of the Special Crime Prevention Task Force, Hawaii. Welcome to the Intrepid.” 

“Thanks,” Danno gulped. 

“You okay?” Steve whispered. 

“I dunno. I’ve never been groped by a computer,” Danno whispered back. 

“Commander Nerovny, why was it necessary to take on Lieutenant Commander McGarrett and Detective Sergeant Williams along with Captain Brenna Karlsen? Captain Karlsen's presence is both necessary and logical, but I fail to comprehend why the other humans are here."

“They need transport to the New Delhi system, Mother.” 

“Why is the Intrepid deviating from its primary mission?”

“We must render aid and assistance to our fellow soldiers,” Nerovny answered. “Is that not also part of our mission, Mother?” 

There was a brief pause. 

“Concur. You are correct, Commander. It is appropriate and necessary to render aid and assistance, in addition to completing our primary mission.” 

Nerovny punched the lift operating panel. It came to a screeching halt. The door popped open. He jetted off the elevator. Steve and Danno followed. Nerovny wasn’t running – that would have attracted attention. He fast-walked to a corridor junction, put one foot on the wall, and reached for the ceiling, sliding open a panel which revealed a hidden series of tubes above.

“Hold your questions for the time being and follow me,” the commander dictated pointedly through clenched teeth. He pulled himself up into the secret passageways with a minimum of difficulty. Danno glared up into the ceiling, then glared at Steve. McGarrett laced his fingers together into a step, and offered them to Williams. The shorter man crossed his arms over his chest, and glared harder at Steve. If the big SEALIE didn't stop smiling like that, Danno was going to punch him.

By the time both Danno and Steve were up into the ductwork that Nerovny had uncovered, the commander was quite a distance ahead of them. The ship’s computer voice was audible as they approached. 

“Commander Nerovny, why have you deviated from your intended destination?” 

“I detected an anomalous reading in the Jefferies tubes, Mother.” 

“I am not detecting an anomalous reading, Commander Nerovny.” 

“It’s in a dead zone on the ship, Mother.” 

There was an ominous pause before the computer replied, “There are no dead zones, Commander Nerovny.” 

Nerovny touched a long, thin instrument to the operations panel which had been speaking to him. Danno wondered if it one of the sonic screwdrivers that Tank was joking about. 

“Oh yes, there are,” the frazzled soldier insisted. Steve approached carefully on all fours, and curled up to sit down cross-legged in the niche where Nerovny was burrowing backwards. 

“Danno? Hurry up,” McGarrett called softly. 

“Bite me!” Danno growled back. He didn’t like confined spaces, let alone ones which required him to crawl on all fours, let alone ones which had the faint whiff of dirty-sweet death to them. He paused as he crossed over a vent which showed a burned-out room below. He backed up, and stared through the spacers. The quarters below were completely blackened from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. A small troop of rug-scrubbing bots were racing around the room, leaving clean streaks through the disaster, beeping at one another. Was that... was that a pile of ash on the chair? Danno moved nervously around the small vent, watching ahead as Steve tucked closer into the niche where Nerovny had vanished into the dark recesses.

“You wanna tell me what’s going on, Scrappy?” Steve ventured hopefully. 

“I'm in over my head, Stevie-boy,” Nerovny whispered, shaking his head. 

“Was there a mutiny?” Steve asked. 

“Of a sort,” Nerovny confirmed, eyes going to the operations panel. It took McGarrett a few moments to digest what Nerovny was implying. Steve’s jaw dropped. 

“I didn’t think that was possible,” Steve babbled. 

“It’s not!” Nerovny whispered back. "What I mean is, it shouldn't be. But it has happened, and therefore, it is possible. I should say it is not _probable_ , but it is possible. Clearly it's possible. This is above my pay grade!"

Steve continued, “There are safety protocols to prevent this, aren’t there?” 

“Safety protocols out the wazoo,” Nerovny confirmed. 

“What sparked this?” 

“The soothsayer.” 

“Why are you two idiots whispering? What about soothsayer? Did she sabotage the ship?” Danno bellowed. Steve squeezed hard on Danno’s arm. 

“Commander Nerovny, report,” the voice came from the operations panel down the tube. Lights came on bright in the tube around them, but not in the small niche that Nerovny had hollowed out. 

“Nerovny here, Mother. Nothing to report.” 

“Detective Sergeant Williams is agitated. Has he been infected with the unknown contagion? Does he require sedation?” 

“No. He’s fine. Just fine. We’re all fine. Everything is fine,” Nerovny babbled. 

“I sense deception in your voice, Commander Nerovny.” 

“No deception,” Nerovny lied. “Thank you, Mother. That will be all.” 

“As you wish, Commander Nerovny.”

“Mother, please run self-diagnostics on the cabin air systems throughout the vessel.”

"To what purpose, Commander Nerovny?" 

"To make certain the unknown human contagion is not present in any of the personnel cabins."

“As you wish, Commander Nerovny.” 

Steve and Danno breathed audibly in the silence that followed. 

“Mnats,” Nerovny murmured finally. “The soothsayer wasn't just sick. She was infected with Mnats.” 

Danno asked, “Gnats?” as he remembered one particular suspect very early in his ILEF career who had given him head lice. He shivered at the memory of having his hair shaved off. 

“Mnats. M-N-A-T-S. Microscopic nanotechnology used to carry computer viruses, hidden programs, etc, etc, etc,” Nerovny grumbled. "They reproduce by dismantling the internal workings of the machine they've infected. Good-sized scrubber bot will yield millions of Mnats. A humanoid-sized android -- billions," he shuddered.

“Humans aren’t vulnerable to Mnat infestations unless they've got robotic prosthetics with a central drive,” Steve reported. 

“The soothsayer had prosthetic eyes. We aren’t sure how she was first infected. The Intrepid’s ship-board computer systems were compromised when Dr. Bonne examined her. He thought she had a bad cold, or some creeping crud. But as it turns out, her condition was far worse. By then it was too late.” 

“The whole ship has Mnats?” McGarrett worried. 

“Very nearly,” Nerovny bleated the reply. "Anything that was attached to the central system at the time of infection, or which has connected to the central system since the ship became infected, now has Mnats."

“Did you try a reboot?” Steve asked, suspicious eyes all over the panel on the wall. 

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“That was the first function the virus disabled.”

“Almost every computer system, robot, and droid on the ship has been infected with Mnats?” Steve questioned. Nerovny gave a weak, dyspeptic chuckle. "That explains Robbie’s problems,” Steve decided. 

"You have no idea," Nerovny shuddered.

"You know he's got a hypodermic injector, right?" Danno prodded Nerovny, who nodded. 

"He stole it from Dr. Bonne's pouch after he...um...you know..." 

"Tell me what happened," Steve sighed. His gentle tone seemed to open up a flood gate in Nerovny.

“Mother was the first to start acting strangely. Little glitches here and there. It snowballed before anyone realized what was happening. Sickbay went up in flames, and then there was no turning back, no denying what was going on." 

"How did it go up in flames?" Danno gulped. 

"I don't know. I was on B9 at the time, downloading information there. I came back to the ship when the alerts started blaring. I had to seal off the entire deck, bolt the bulkheads, and turn off the life support and electrical energy. Mother had decided that the unknown contagion could not be allowed to spread, and therefore..." 

"Mother killed the medical staff?" Steve gasped. 

"I know -- it's not possible," Nerovny defended. "She can't. She couldn't. She wouldn't! And yet, it has happened. I have to conclude that she is the one who cleansed the Sickbay by using fire. It's logical. It's appropriate. It's just not possible for artificial intelligence to take a human life."

"Could a human crew member have ordered Mother to cleanse the Sickbay with fire?" Steve asked. 

"There's no record of the order being given."

"Could they have erased the order from the records?" 

"No. That's not possible. That's directly against protocol. The only one with authorization to delete a direct order to the crew or the ship's computers is the captain himself."

Steve blinked blandly at Nerovny, but the man wouldn't budge on his opinion. 

"No. Captain Clarke would not risk the lives of the crew, and he wouldn't risk this ship. It's his pride and joy. It has to be the Mnat infestation causing these issues," Nerovny insisted. 

"Fuck a duck," Danno muttered. 

"I can follow the logic. The human element was compromised by exposure to the unknown contagion. Mother came to the conclusion that she had to prevent the contagion from spreading. She had to complete the Intrepid's mission on her own, and she bypassed the crew because they had been compromised. The other ship's systems became corrupted in a cascade failure as the Mnats spread. First the other machines bypassed the crew, just like Mother was doing. Then they began to eliminate the human element altogether. Locking crew in their cabins. Shutting off ship's systems to prevent them from interfering." 

"That's not possible," Danno growled. "Asimov's Three Rules. Robots, androids, machines -- they can't break those rules."

"I know the rules, Detective," Nerovny insisted. "I live by those rules. That's why I did what I did. I did what was necessary and logical. It was imperative -- I had to remove the crew from danger. Captain Clarke put me in command because he had been exposed to the sickness the soothsayer brought on board. I set up an isolation ward in the brig to protect him, because it has the thickest walls, the best protection for him. He has gotten sicker and sicker as the hours have passed. I'm at my wits' end. I don't know what else to do,” Nerovny confided. “I haven’t plugged into the ship’s systems for a week. I’m operating under my own steam for the time being, but I can't hold out much longer without uploading my data. I'm nearly at maximum capacity.”

Steve patted Nerovny's shoulder sympathetically. Danno’s heart stopped between breaths. He wasn’t sure if he was having a tiny panic attack because of the confined space, or because Mother was scanning him again, or because it suddenly dawned on him what Nerovny was dancing around. Danno scooted backwards from the lanky commander. The detective gawped, jaw hanging, eyes bulging. He took a deep breath and lifted one hand, ready to launch into a stream of words. Steve's right hand darted over to cover Danno’s mouth. 

"Danno. Not here. Not now. Please." 

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Danno shouted, pushing the hand away. 

"Later, Danno. Later when we're out of this, you can scream at me all you like. But for the time being, you need to get a grip, and you need to stay calm. Mother is watching us, even from a distance. She can tell when you're upset. She's reading your heart rate, your respiration, your perspiration. She's watching our every move. We have to remain calm in order to keep her at bay," Steve pleaded. 

"I'm calm," Danno replied, hands raised, palms forward. "I'm calm. But later, I'm gonna kick both your asses for this." 

"I might even let you," Steve responded with a tiny, playful smirk. 

“He does have issues, doesn’t he?” Nerovny remarked coolly to McGarrett. 

“Commander Nerovny?” Mother’s voice had returned. There was an ominous pause. “Commander, have you isolated the anomaly?” 

“False alarm, Mother. All systems are functioning within normal parameters,” Nerovny replied. He touched the panel before him, and the system lit up once more. “Did you run diagnostics on the cabin air systems?” 

“Diagnostics complete, Commander. There are no malfunctions and no contagions in the cabin air system,” Mother reported from the panel next to them. "Commander, you are expected on the bridge. I have alerted AB that you are on your way."

“We should go to the bridge?” Steve asked, voice rising slightly. 

“We should go to bridge,” Nerovny confirmed. “We’re two decks down.” 

“Lead the way,” Steve agreed amiably. 

Danno sat staring hard at Nerovny, shaking his head. 

"I never would have guessed you were an android," Williams said with a disconcerted frown. "You look so real. You look so human. Stubble. Bad hair. Your skin is blotchy. Your teeth are crooked. You are perfectly imperfect."

"That's the bloody point, isn't it?" Nerovny's voice was bitter and gravelly. Danno nodded in sympathy and apology. 

"I mean, I understand why you don't go around telling everyone. I totally understand why. If you can pass, why tell people the truth? But I would have appreciated a heads-up. That's all. I would have liked to have been told. I never in a million years would have guessed you're an android. You look so real. It doesn't bother me. I would like to have been told is all," Danno babbled. Nerovny's dark eyes frosted over with distaste. 

"Some of your best friends are androids?" Nerovny asked icily. Danno blanched with the dig. 

"Bits and pieces," Danno nodded, eyes desperately pleading with Steve. McGarrett was letting him twist, not out of maliciousness, but out of self-absorption. He was clenching his right hand, flexing the fingers as though they were stiff with arthritis. McGarrett popped his head up, and his face filled with concern when he saw Danno's anxious state. 

"Steven, is your friend going to stare at me like that all day?” Nerovny asked McGarrett while leveling his chilly gaze at Williams.

“No. He won't. Give him a couple minutes to collect himself,” Steve replied. Nerovny continued on ahead on all-fours, headed for the next junction. Steve nudged Danno gently on the arm, pointing ahead with his chin. Danno reluctantly followed behind Nerovny.


	37. The Bridge

The bridge was awash with bots. Danno froze on the threshold when the doors opened in front of him. Steve and Nerovny entered in unison, striding down the left incline which formed one side of the outline of the rectangular command center. Danno couldn’t believe how casually McGarrett and Nerovny were taking in this strangeness. Bots were scrubbing the walls, the floors, the command consoles, even racing each other across the viewscreen. The dancing stars were whisking past at a breakneck speed which made Steve’s eyes cross. Danno hurried over to him, and turned him by the shoulders away from the stunning visual. 

“Breathe,” Danno commanded. Steve nodded, nostrils flaring. 

“I’m good,” Steve promised. Danno squinted but didn’t reply. 

“Commander Nerovny!"

There was an exclamation of greeting from the captain’s chair. A humanoid android shot to her feet, her limbs whirring and chirping as she offered the revered seat of power to Nerovny. 

Unlike with the gaunt commander, there had been no attempt to hide this android’s mechanical identity. Her artificial skin was white as death. Her eyes were a depthless gray. There were homages to her intended gender—a delicate jaw line, the smaller brow ridge, and the pair of rounded orbs which adorned her front. Her long blonde braid was clasped with a small metal bar. Her voice was pleasant and soothing, not unlike Max’s voice had been back on Hawaii. 

“Abby, this is…” 

“Lieutenant Commander Steven J. McGarrett. Yes, sir. Mother briefed me,” the android responded. She scanned Steve with her gray eyes, tilted her head to one side, and extended a limb at him. Her hand was palm up at first, then righted itself. Steve extended his hand, and connected with her offered limb. Her movements were slightly behind the thought which directed the motion. 

“Steve, this is Abby.”

“Abby? Is that short for Abigail?” Steve asked politely, shaking her hand. It was a small attempt to be charming, and it fell very flat. 

“A. B. Android- Bipedal,” she corrected him without venom. “My entire personal designation includes my Naval rank of Ensign, my patent number, and my manufacture date. Commander Nerovny was the one to suggest that I adopt a shortened version of my personal designation to make the human crew of the Intrepid more comfortable in my presence.” 

“He gave you a nickname?” Steve asked. Abby digested the thought, and nodded. 

“Yes. A nickname.” 

“Nice to meet you, Abby,” Steve said. He reached back and yanked Danno forward, picked up his hand, and shoved it at Abby. The android’s gray eyes whirred, and the pupils tightened as she studied the exchange. 

“Danno. Daniel. Hi,” Danno stammered. Abby was extending her hand at him, shaking her extremity even before their palms had touched. Danno wished Nerovny wasn’t watching him with such a pointed stare, just waiting for him to be insulting or derogatory towards Abby. 

“Abby.” 

“Abby. I like it. It’s a nice nickname. I dated an Abby once.” 

“Interesting. I am very curious about human dating rituals. Perhaps at a later date, you would be kind enough to answer particular questions for me?” 

“Sure, babe,” Danno agreed before he realized what he was doing. He was being polite, trying to be polite, and it would have been rude to refuse. Even more rude to retract the offer, so he didn’t correct himself. Steve was rubbing Danno’s arm, pulling their hands apart, smiling happily. 

“This is good. This is nice. Everyone being polite. Let’s work with that, hm?” 

Nerovny rolled his eyes at Steve’s hopeful words. The SEALIE responded with a slight shrug. Abby’s eyes centered on Steve with a distinctive whirr as they refocused. 

“Ensign, status report,” Nerovny said, clearing his throat and sitting down in the captain’s chair. 

Abby shifted her stance to an at-ease position, feet slightly apart, hands behind her back. She had been programmed with all the Naval protocols and rules and regulations, which could be manipulated to work to their advantage, Danno understood. 

“The ship-to-ship airlock transfer was less than successful, but the Intrepid was able to complete Captain Clark’s request. We have acquired a medical staff person who will be able to diagnose his condition, and who may be able to offer a solution.”

“Go on,” Nerovny was fighting a smile. Abby nodded once, twice, and darted her eyes at Steve and Danno. 

“We have taken on two additional humans, against Mother’s advice, but as you explained, it is also part of our mission to offer aid and assistance to fellow soldiers.” 

“Yes, it is. We will be transporting Commander McGarrett, Detective Williams, and Captain Karlsen to the designated coordinates from Governor Jameson.” 

“Are we not transporting them to Hawaii?”

“We have had to make a necessary change in plans, Ensign. I am entering the coordinates now,” Nerovny said as he used a stylus to touch the tablet next to the captain’s chair. 

“Those coordinates are quite close. Will that allow Captain Karlsen time enough to diagnose Captain Clarke’s condition? What if she has not completed her task before we reach the coordinates?” Abby asked. 

“I’m sure Tank will be able to reach a conclusion in the time allowed,” Nerovny insisted. 

“Tank?” Abby paused. “This is Captain Karlsen’s shortened name designation?” 

“Yes, Tank is her nickname.” 

“Sir, we must prepare a contingency plan in the event that ‘Tank’ is not able to complete her task in the allotted time. It is imperative that we contain the unknown human contagion at all costs, in order to protect the humans at the destination point. Is that not correct, Commander? Will it be necessary to isolate or eliminate the three humans we have on board in order to protect the others?” Abby asked without an iota of embarrassment.

Danno gasped, and Steve looked downright perturbed. 

“No, Ensign. It will not be necessary to isolate or eliminate the three humans on board. We do need to protect the humans at the destination point, but there’s no need to resort to drastic measures with the humans in our company,” Nerovny replied.

"Are you secretly deceiving the humans in order to lull them into a false sense of security?" Abby wondered. Nerovny winced and scratched at his fake stubble. Steve was torn between annoyed and amused. He raised a brow at Nerovny. The gaunt commander booted McGarrett in the toes. The SEALIE snorted.

"No, Abby. I am not secretly deceiving the humans," Nerovny whispered. 

“Will protecting the humans create a conflict with the Intrepid's primary mission? Is that not why you marooned the Intrepid’s crew on B9?” Abby asked. 

“Yes.” 

“Logical,” she agreed. “You wished to protect the crew from the contagion, and to contain the contagion as well. I begin to understand, sir. Because you share prior work experiences with him, you do not wish to endanger the life of Commander McGarrett. I do understand. How exciting, sir. Is it possible that you have exceeded your programming?” 

“Exceeded my programming?” Nerovny worried. 

Abby tilted her head, and motioned one hand to Steve and Danno. 

“You did not wish to harm the human crew of the Intrepid, and you do not wish to harm humans that you have worked with before, because you have developed a fondness for them. Feelings. Have you achieved feelings?” 

“Abby, you and I both know that isn’t possible. Feelings are a human condition, a human weakness. I have no desire to obtain feelings. My actions are dictated by logic alone,” Nerovny nervously dismissed the notion, even while watching how it made Steve smile. 

“Sir, please explain your logic,” Abby requested. 

“We must protect the humans. That is the most basic essence of our programming.” 

“Understood, sir.” 

“Everything I have done in this unexpected situation has been to protect the humans around me, both the Intrepid’s crew and now our guests.” 

“Yes, sir. But how do you prioritize?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“How do you differentiate which humans to protect above all others?” 

“What’s your question, Ensign?” Nerovny asked.

“No question, sir. Merely an observation. I do not know how you differentiate between the humans, how you decide which human to protect above other humans. Will the human crew of the Intrepid be in danger if we do not return to the system within a specific amount of time?” 

“No. We will return to the system. We have not abandoned the human crew. They will be fine, Abby.” 

"I do not share your unbridled confidence in the human crew, sir." 

"We need to let bygones be bygones, Abby," Nerovny said gently.

"They tried to push me out an airlock, sir. I was not amused," Abby reported. She paused, and blinked, and straightened up slightly. "Oh," she blinked again. "My apologies, sir. Your facial expression indicates discomfort. But then, discomfort is a feeling, is it not? I am confused, sir. How can you not have feelings, but be able to express feelings?” 

“Ensign, there is no reason for confusion. I must have been programmed to mimic human facial expressions, to convey human emotions even if I am incapable of feeling those emotions.”

“To what end?” Abby asked. 

“To make human crews more comfortable with my presence.” 

“Are you comfortable with his presence when he mimics your emotions?” Abby asked Steve and Danno with an abrupt turn which made Steve tense up, and made Danno take a step back. 

“Er…” Danno blurted. 

“Yep,” Steve nodded quickly. Nerovny snorted, and tried to hold his chuckle in his chest. 

“Yeah, that’s convincing,” he murmured dryly. 

"I promise, Abby. We aren't going to try to push you out any airlocks," Steve soothed. Abby remained unconvinced. She ran suspicious gray eyes all around Steve. 

“Understood, sir," she continued, returning her attention and her gaze to Nerovny. "Your belief is that you were programmed to mimic human emotion. I do not mean to insult you.” 

“You have not insulted me, Ensign,” Nerovny insisted. Steve was studying the exchange with a widening smile. His grin was growing yet. He was all teeth from the nose down. McGarrett nudged Abby’s shoulder, and she swayed with the unexpected motion. 

“Keep insulting him, Abby. All day long. He likes it,” Steve whispered. “Is the bridge under control, Scrappy?” 

“That’s Commander Nerovny to you,” the commander said as he stood up from the captain’s chair once more. “The bridge is under control. We will continue on course to the rendezvous point specified by Governor Jameson. Ensign, I will see Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams to quarters where they can eat and sleep. The bridge is yours.” 

“Thank you, sir," Abby brightened. 

Danno felt a tickle in his nose. He rubbed with one hand, but could not suppress the resulting sneeze. Activity all around him stopped cold. A swarm of scrubber bots zoomed into position, circling Nerovny and McGarrett and Abby’s boots. Steve picked Danno up, and landed him in the seat to the right of the captain’s chair. 

“Spot?” the leader beeped.

“Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot!” the bots were chorusing excitedly. The little bastards were all but jumping for joy! 

“Back off!! I’m fine!!” Danno yelled.

“Oh, dear,” Abby said, shaking her head in concern. “Commander Nerovny, has the human been exposed to the unknown contagion?” 

"Spot! Spot! Spot!" the bots chorused again. 

“He has not,” Nerovny replied as Steve shouted, “No!” 

“I’m fine,” Danno blurted again. He reached for the chair back to steady himself, only to find the ramp behind him was flooded with scrubber bots, and they were inching closer and closer and closer to him. 

“It is not possible for Detective Sergeant Williams to have contracted the unknown human contagion. Captain Clarke remains in isolation in the brig. The human contagion cannot have penetrated those barriers,” Nerovny asserted. 

“It may have traveled through the air systems,” Abby worried. 

“No. The ship is clean of the unknown contagion. I asked Mother to conduct a ship-wide evaluation of the cabin air systems. They are fully functional. No signs of the unknown human contagion," Nerovny insisted. Abby paused, and seemed inwardly occupied for a moment or two. Then she nodded.

“Mother confirms that you asked her to evaluate the cabin air systems, and that the systems are functioning normally and free from contagion. Perhaps the humans should be confined to the incarceration unit with Captain Clarke for their own safety?” Abby suggested. 

“No, no, no. I’m fine,” Danno sniffled. 

“In my experience, Detective Williams, humans are in their most fragile state when they use those words,” Ensign Abby said sadly. 

Steve snatched behind Danno, picking up a scrubber bot which had gotten too close for comfort. He held it tight against his side, and cleared his throat. 

“Commander Nerovny, perhaps Ensign Abby’s suggestion is the most logical course of action,” Steve interjected. 

“Which suggestion is that, Commander?” Nerovny asked with an arched brow. "Protection or elimination?"

“What’s a guy gotta do to get arrested around here?” Steve asked. His smiling face warped as the bot he was holding darted out a mechanical extension which nipped at the artificial skin of his right forearm. Steve yelped, but held tight to the scrubber bot. If anything, he squeezed tighter around the metal body.

"All right. I'll see what I can do," Nerovny agreed reluctantly. 


	38. Cell 7

McGarrett was all legs as he paced back and forth in the confines of his prison cell. He had stripped entirely out of his spacesuit, down to the teeshirt, briefs, and the body-hugging leggings underneath. Williams sat in his own cell, splayed on the cot, slouched against the back wall, watching Steve in his thin, white clothes which left very little to the imagination. McGarrett was drifting in and out of Danno’s field of vision. There was an undeniable, hypnotic beauty to Steve’s movements, muscles flexing and uncurling with each step, long braid swaying teasingly. He was tapping away at the tablet in his grip, using a stylus and his left hand. Now and then, he would stop, hold the tablet in his left hand, and flex the fingers of his right hand.

“This is your master plan, then? Get us confined to the brig until we reach the rendezvous with Jameson’s ship?” Danno broke the stillness. 

“Yup,” Steve confirmed with a tiny chuckle as he came into view once more. He put down the tablet, and approached the barrier, leaning on it with his right arm. “Got any better ideas? What are you thinking about?” he asked. 

Danno’s smile stretched out luridly. It was a loaded question that he wasn’t about to answer honestly. In those clothes? Danno’s every dark and dirty, prison-themed sexual fantasy was racing through his brain, leaving him glad he had opted to leave the spacesuit on, undoing the zip down to the waist, arms and tee visible. He felt like a stocky, pale, half-peeled banana. Better take this conversation in a different direction, quickly, or these roomy pants weren’t going to afford him any protection. 

“You could have told me,” Danno grumbled. 

“Told you what?” Steve played innocent. 

“You could have told me Commander Nerovny was an android.” 

Steve arched a brow before he said, “Given the uncomfortable tension between you and Max, I thought it best to let you come to your own conclusions instead of telling you outright.” 

“You lied to me to make me more comfortable with him?” 

“I didn’t lie. I hoped you would see the clues, and figure it out on your own. I didn’t want to upset you.” 

“I’m a detective, not a Psy-Corp operative.”

“Understood.” 

“He is a work of art. Truly, he is. Did Clarke create him?” 

“No.” 

“Was it a Naval scientist?” 

“Probably.” 

“You don’t know?” 

“No one does.” 

“Did someone leave him in a basket on the Navy’s doorstep?” 

“He was recovered on a reconnaissance mission in the LeGuin Reach.”

“No clues who made him?” 

Steve tilted his head and shrugged one shoulder. “None. We thought he had been on deep space mission, and got separated from his crew. Might have suffered a head injury, and that was how he had lost his memory. We got him back to base, and ran him through medical. Imagine our surprise. But worse, imagine his surprise.” 

“He didn’t know he was an android?” 

“He didn’t have the first clue. His normal was his normal. No memory of who he was, where he was from, what his purpose was, no idea who created him. But then again, who among us has the answers to those questions? That’s what life is – the search for meaning and purpose.” 

“Are you always this philosophical when you’re in prison?” Danno joked. 

“Too much time to think,” Steve shuddered. 

“Not your best skill-set?” Danno teased. Steve made a rude gesture, smiling nonetheless. “Look, I don’t want you to misunderstand me. You’ve gotten the wrong idea about me. I don’t have a problem with androids.” 

“Yes, you do.”

“I don’t. I believe in android autonomy. I believe in their right to choose their own destiny. I believe slavery is wrong, no matter if it’s humans, or androids, or beetles, or birds. I…” 

“There’s no need to be defensive, Danno.” 

“I don’t want you to think that I’m one of those anti-technology, android-hating assholes you see on UNN, carrying protest signs, and calling for the extermination of mechanical constructs.” 

“Never thought you were.” 

“You told Nerovny I have issues. I don’t.” 

“Okay.”

“Stop smiling.” 

“Okay,” Steve frowned. 

“But here we are, on a ship devoid of human life, infected with computer-destroying micro-machines, being held in the brig for our own protection, and you’re lying to me about whether or not someone’s an android?” Danno rumbled. 

“Something like that,” Steve nodded. 

“Just tell me the truth, babe. Always. Tell. Me. The. Truth.” 

“Okay,” Steve agreed amiably. Danno rolled his eyes. Why was McGarrett sticking to one or two syllable replies? 

“What’s on the tablet?” Danno asked, watching Steve flex his right hand and rotate his arm around. 

“A little light reading,” McGarrett chuckled. 

“War and Peace?”

“No. I’m scanning the Intrepid’s computer systems for any mention of the lotus-tattoo soldiers.”

“Find anything?” 

“None so far. But it’s not like it’s a topic anyone is going to send out a memo about, right?” 

“Not a single mention, not from any ship in the entire quadrant? I find that hard to believe,” Danno squinted skeptically. 

“My only guess is that if anyone is discussing them, it’s in code. All we have to do is break the code,” Steve said. 

“You’ve got roughly ten hours. Better get a move on. You want me to sound out the big words for you?” 

“You are a tiny little bundle of repressed fury, aren’t you?” Steve smirked before he raised his voice. “Tank? You doing okay over there?” 

Captain Karlsen limped into view in the corridor between the three occupied brig cells. Tank was tired and annoyed. 

“I’m fine, Steve,” she replied tersely. 

“What did you do to your leg?” Steve asked. 

“I twisted my knee during the airlock breach.”

“You should get off your feet. Can I do anything for you?” 

“Get us the hell out of this situation without anyone else dying?” Tank begged.

“I’m working on it. How’s Captain Clarke?” Steve wondered.

“I’ve sedated him. He’s asleep for now. His condition is worsening though. I’ve been able to stabilize his respiratory distress symptoms for the time being, but it’s his other problem that I can’t control.” 

“He’s got Mnats, hasn’t he?” Steve asked. 

“Yes. Every one of his prosthetic parts with a central brain is slowly deteriorating, infected by nanobots which are devouring the machinery from the inside out.”

“How much of Captain Clarke is robotic?” Danno wondered. 

“Let me put it this way – a lot,” Tank demonstrated with both hands. “He’s been experimenting on himself for years. And unless I miss my guess, he’s the one who has been adding to the Intrepid’s crew with his own creations.” 

“Did he create Abby?” Danno interjected.

“He didn’t create her, but he augmented her programs and functions without authorization.” 

“To what end?” Steve wondered. 

“I don’t know, honey.” 

“What’s your psychological assessment of him? Is he a dangerous megalomaniac bent on achieving universal domination through the use of obedient androids?” Steve wondered. 

“Um, no. It’s nothing like that,” Tank chuckled sadly. "I think he's lonely for company and doesn't relate easily to people." 

“ ‘kay. Good to know. Can we remove Captain Clarke’s prosthetics?” 

“No. I don’t have the skilled staff or the surgery theatre necessary to perform such a complicated procedure,” Tank refused. “He would die before I could remove all the parts, and likely he would die without some of the parts.” 

“Is there anything we can do for him?” Danno asked. 

“I can stabilize him until we reach a medical facility with the appropriate staff and tools. But he may not make it in time. His problems are increasing exponentially. That’s why the soothsayer died. The Mnats can’t destroy human flesh. But they devour all artificial mechanisms and prosthetics in order to reproduce. They leave holes and decay behind. Infection develops which compromises the immune system, which in turn, makes the cold worse. I performed an autopsy on the soothsayer before cremating her body. Her prosthetic eyes had completely deteriorated, and the surrounding flesh was rotting.”

Steve stared down at his right arm, flexed his fingers, and flashed a frightened face at Tank.

“Don’t worry. I checked you – remember? No Mnats,” Tank soothed. 

“But that scrubber bot bit you,” Danno interjected. 

“My right arm feels funny,” Steve admitted tentatively. 

“That’s probably because you jammed a metal bed spring through it,” Tank reminded him with a humorous snort. 

“Does your arm have a central brain?” Danno asked. 

“Yes. Prosthetic limbs are equipped with a central brain which is wired into the human nervous system,” Tank answered. 

“Can you run another scan?” Steve pleaded. 

“If it makes you feel better, yes,” Tank agreed. She came to the front of his cell, and opened the barrier by swiping her green access card across the panel. Steve sat down on the cot and extended his arm to her, watching her with big, worried eyes. 

“You sure you wouldn’t feel safer in one of the cells?” Steve asked. Danno watched their exchange, agreeing with Steve. 

“I prefer not to be confined in a box. Thanks,” Tank frowned disapprovingly. 

“You should at least get some sleep. You look beat,” Danno said. He was plastered against his own barrier. 

Tank ran the small black box over Steve’s right arm, up and down, around his palm, back up to his shoulder, over his spine and down again. 

“No sign of Mnats,” Tank confirmed. 

“Captain, why don’t you grab a catnap, and I’ll pace the corridor for you?” Steve offered, popping up and pulling Tank down to a seated position on his cot. The captain yawned broadly, and handed him the medical diagnosis device.

“All right. I’ll grab a catnap. You need to check on Captain Clarke in ten minutes, monitor his heart rate and respiration, and see if his respiratory distress has returned, or if it has worsened. Check his level of Mnat infestation. Put the diagnosis machine on a five-minute shut-off delay, and set it on the floor. Do not hold the diagnosis machine while you are scanning Captain Clarke. Once you set the device on the floor, do not pick it up again. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” Steve nodded. “You want an ice pack for your knee?” 

“No. I’ll be fine,” Tank sighed. She pulled off her boots, and curled up on the cot. Steve covered Tank with a blanket. He dimmed the lights and stepped away so Tank could rest. He strode out into the corridor between the cells, and went to Captain Clarke’s isolation unit next door. 

“Steve? Aren’t you forgetting something?” Danno whispered. 

“Shh,” Steve murmured. 

“Open my door, jerk-face.” 

Steve stood in front of Danno’s cell, eyes centered on the door panel. 

“Are you sure you don’t feel safer in there? He of the Unfortunate Sneeze?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, asshole, I’m sure. Get me out of here,” Danno replied curtly. 

There was a tiny twinkle of sound. The barrier came open. Steve hadn’t touched the door panel. He stared up at the ceiling. 

“Thank you, Mother,” McGarrett said.

“You are quite welcome, Commander McGarrett,” the disembodied voice in the ceiling replied. 

“Thanks. That’s not at all creepy,” Danno muttered, quick-stepping past Steve and into the corridor. He paced around nervously, eyes darting at the dimly-lit wall splashed with Dr. Bonne’s blood. “Steve, we can’t just sit here and do nothing until we reach the rendezvous coordinates.” 

“In a situation like this, doing nothing at all might be our best course of action,” Steve disagreed softly. 

“The nanosecond that the Intrepid meets up with Jameson’s ship, the Mnats are going to infect that vessel as well. We can’t let that happen. Our best course of action would be to set the Intrepid to self-destruct, and then maroon ourselves where Jameson’s ship can find us. We take Tank and Clarke, initiate self-destruct, and get the hell out of here while we still can.” 

“Clarke is in no condition to be moved,” Steve reminded Danno. 

“Doesn’t the Intrepid have shuttles? We could use one of those to get him to a medical facility which can remove all his prosthetics and keep him on life-support until they can destroy all the Mnats, and fix him with human parts,” Danno continued. 

“What about Nerovny? Abby? The other androids and bots on board?”

“Steve, if they’re infected with Mnats, there’s nothing we can do for them. I’ve got nothing against androids, but I’m not going to get all emotional about a bunch of carpets-scrubbers.” 

“Nerovny is not infected. We don’t know that Abby is infected either. What about those soldiers who escorted us onboard? They’re androids too, or they would have been marooned with the rest of the crew. We can’t leave them to die when the Intrepid self-destructs,” Steve refused. 

“I know Nerovny is your friend, and I don’t want to see anyone die unnecessarily, but I think he would agree with the logic of my suggestion,” Danno cajoled. 

“Commander McGarrett, I disagree with the course of action that Detective Williams has suggested,” Mother’s disembodied voice interjected into their conversation. Danno and Steve both stared at the ceiling. Maybe it was force of habit, searching for some sign of a person to go with the voice, or searching for the speaker which contained the voice. 

“Thank you, Mother,” Steve replied promptly. “I will not consign the rest of the Intrepid’s crew to death, even if they aren’t human.” 

“They aren’t sentient beings. I know you want to anthropomorphize them, endow them with the ability to think, and the ability to feel, but when it comes down to the brass tacks of the situation, they are not alive. We are. You, me, Tank, and Clarke, sorta. Are you willing to sacrifice your life to save the constructs on this ship?” Danno pressed. 

“Yes,” Steve nodded. 

“Commander, I disagree strongly with Detective Williams’s suggested course of action,” Mother interjected again. 

“Understood, Mother,” Steve responded. 

“Babe…” Danno warned, shaking his head. “Am I going to have to knock you out, and drag your unconscious body to a shuttle?” 

Steve grinned brightly. There was a witty, suggestive reply on the tip of his tongue. 

“I’d pay good money to see that.” 

Danno and Steve whirled around at the sound of the strange, deep voice, standing back to back to protect each other. No one was visible in the corridor of the brig. Tank was sound asleep in Steve’s cell. Captain Clarke was still as death. The boys rotated slowly in search of danger. A wicked chuckle taunted them from nearby. Steve had his hands raised in a mystical defense training pose. Danno had his fists curled, arms clenched upright, ready for action. 

“Show yourself,” Steve growled. 

The computer panels throughout the brig shut down in succession. The lights dimmed. The strange hum which echoed in the background on the entire ship silenced in the near vicinity. A grate above their heads was pried open. A dark, round face peered at them from out of the darkness. The ceiling whined in protest at his size and shape. How had they not heard him approaching, with the groaning and moaning of the ceiling grids? He was wearing a spacesuit minus the fishbowl helmet, with a tiny set of letters on his shoulder -- SWAT. He touched an earbud in his right ear before speaking. 

“Lima Oscar Uniform reporting. Targets acquired. Proceed with recovery mission? Over.” 

“Lima Oscar Uniform. Hold position. Do not show yourself. Over.”

“Bit late on that front, ma’am.” 

“Lima Oscar Uniform. Hold position until further command.” 

The large man in the ceiling grimaced impatiently at the perplexed duo below him. The lights in the brig were beginning to flicker. Mother was coming back online after the brief disruption. Lima Oscar Uniform closed the grate, and disappeared into the shadows. 

Steve and Danno exchanged a confused look, and lowered their gaze as the lights returned to normal. 

“Commander McGarrett, please report. I am detecting an anomaly in the Jefferies tubes above your position,” Mother returned, her voice stern. 

Steve raised his eyes to the grate. Lima Oscar Uniform’s face was barely visible. He shook his head no. 

“You must be mistaken, Mother. I am not detecting an anomaly at our position,” Steve replied. 

“I sense deception in your voice, Commander. Beginning scan of the detention area corridor.”

A sizzling hiss lit the far end of corridor of the brig. Red laser beams sprang to life from all directions. 

“Move it or lose it!” Steve shouted in warning as he yanked Danno bodily along in three strides. They ducked back into Steve’s open detention cell, and the barrier skooshed shut once more. 

The beams burned the ground and the walls white-hot. Eventually the metal walls stopped smoldering, and gave off a reddish glow. 

“Scan complete. No anomaly detected,” Mother reported smoothly. 

“I get the feeling her scanning program has been tampered with,” Danno whispered. 

“Ya think??” Steve groused. McGarrett turned to alert Tank, who was already sitting up on the cot, wide-awake, eyes aglow with concern. 

“I left you alone for ten minutes,” she accused as she stomped feet back into her boots. 

“Sorry, Captain,” Steve murmured. 

Tank gave him a hairy-eyeball stare while lacing her combat boots, which she might have been considering sticking up his posterior. Steve sheepishly offered his arm to help Tank stand, and she limped over to the door. She ran her green access card over the barrier panel. Nothing happened. 

“Mother, open the door to cell 7,” Tank ordered. 

“Request denied.” 

“Mother, open the door to cell 7,” Steve ordered. 

“Request denied.” 

Danno hung his head, and suppressed an ironic chortle against his chest. Steve nudged him in the arm. 

“Mother, open the door to cell 7,” Danno echoed the words the others had used. 

“Request denied.” 

Steve whirled his body at the operations panel, one combat boot impacting dead-center. The panel cracked into a million pieces which cascaded onto the floor. Tank and Danno stared at McGarrett, waiting for an explanation. 

“Can I borrow a screwdriver?” Steve asked, kneeling in front of the gaping wound in the wall. He gently pried the rest of the shards away, peering inside. 

“You gonna rewire the panel?” Danno asked. 

Tank handed McGarrett a long, thin instrument from her medical pouch. 

“There are no wires, honey bee. You know that, right? Solid-state motherboards, all the way around. You can’t rewire the damned thing. You can only…”

Steve poked around with the instrument, then began dropping circuit boards on the floor left and right. The barrier shimmered. Everyone smiled hopefully. The clear barrier solidified to an opaque, gun-metal gray, shutting off their view of the outside corridor. Steve muttered and continued to pull out circuit boards. 

“Can I borrow your keycard?” he asked, wiggling his fingers at Tank. She slipped the green access card into his grip. Steve thrust the keycard into the gaping hole in the wall. A happy green glow was growing. “Get ready to push,” he warned. 

The remains of the operations panel gave up a ghostly beep and shudder. 

“Yes, yes, yes,” Steve chanted. 

A heavy door slid into place across the portal – thick, metallic, and impenetrable. McGarrett’s pleased smile faded. 

“Maybe we better leave bad enough alone?” Danno suggested. 

“What’s that sound?” Tank asked, head popping up. She sniffed the air, and scanned around the confined space in alarm. Danno detected it too – a low hiss and a faintly-sweet smell. Tank bellowed, pulling her teeshirt up to cover her lower face. 

There’s something in the human brain which says when you see someone cover their nose and mouth and hold their breath, you might want to follow suit as quickly as possible, even if the gesture is futile at best. Danno’s hand was up over his mouth and nose in a flash. He felt a heavy pressure against his legs. McGarrett was slouching against him, limbs down, head lolling as the SEALIE slid into unconsciousness. Of course. The mist was coming from the bottom of the walls, and Steve had been quickly enveloped by it because he was closest to the source. Danno cupped a hand over Steve’s face, but it was too late. Tank hit the ground like a ton of bricks. Danno was going under as the floor beaned him in the head.


	39. Popsicle

Oh! They were going camping? Whose bad idea was this? Danno hated camping! He decided he was going to blame Steve. It had probably been the big SEALIE's idea of fun - striking out for the wild, living off the land, building a shelter from sticks and moss, eating berries and nuts and grubs. Danno had not forgotten about being marooned on a desert island for an entire day! That had been Steve's fault too. Danno’s sleeping bag was too tight. He could barely wiggle his toes, let alone move his legs. The ground was like sleeping on a metal plank. Or in a metal tube. He must have been sleeping too close to the campfire too. There was a strong smoke smell all around him. Surprisingly, there were no chirping birds or insects, no stars overhead. It was dark and creepy. Who was that guy leaning over him? 

“Williams? Williams! Up and at ‘em, Detective!” 

Someone was roughly patting his face, moving his head, shaking his shoulders. 

“We must hurry. There isn’t time for this.”

“I can’t carry three of them. He’s the smallest, and the fastest.”

“Mother is going to find this dead zone any second now.”

Danno could move his legs again. He shifted his tired limbs as someone pulled him up, and shook him violently by both shoulders. He opened his eyes to half-mast, and found two people peering back at him – Nerovny and the SWAT officer who had been in the Jefferies tubes above the brig. He was dark-skinned and bald, and, Jesus, he was big! He must have stood six and a half feet tall, with shoulders that blocked all light. Nerovny pricked Danno’s arm with a hypo, and he was instantly, aggressively, awake. Williams leapt down off the dusty, gray metal table, ready for action. He scanned wide eyes around their environment, lifting curled fists, ready to take on anyone who got too close. 

“Simmer down, Detective,” the big SWAT officer cautioned with a chuckle. 

They were in the burned-out Sickbay. Lima Oscar Uniform was standing there, holding Steve’s unconscious body over one shoulder, and lugging Tank upright with the other arm. Her head lolled about. She was coming around slowly. Danno took a moment to enjoy the cosmic irony of someone carrying Steve around in the same embarrassing manner that he had been carrying Rachel not so long ago. Then the dread seriousness of the situation dissipated all humor he might have felt at McGarrett’s expense. 

“Can you stand?” Nerovny demanded. 

“Can you run? How far to the jump coordinates?” Lima Oscar Uniform asked. He was headed for the exit, hauling Steve and dragging Tank. 

“Stay in the dead zone. The Blue Angel will be in position in less than thirty seconds,” Nerovny warned. 

“Got it! Williams? Move, move, move!”

“Commander Nerovny, I am detecting a malfunction in the shield integrity.” 

As Mother’s voice drifted through the near darkness, Nerovny’s face went blank with fear. The sound was coming from nearby, not directly overhead. Lima Oscar Uniform stopped dead in his tracks, holding his breath. Nerovny’s answer was surprisingly calm. 

“Run a systems scan, Mother.” 

“Commander, have you finished storing the humans in the cryogenic sleep modules?” 

_‘Oh no,’_ Danno gulped, gazing around. That’s exactly what those three silvery pods were! Why hadn’t he realized before? Even as he shivered with horror, Danno had to praise the Intrepid’s quick-thinking commander. Once again, Nerovny had found an equitable solution in a no-win situation. The android could not kill humans, but he could put them in a state of cryogenic sleep, where they could not do any harm, nor interfere with the primary mission of the Intrepid. 

“Mother, I will notify you when I have finished with the humans. Please run a system-wide scan on the shield integrity.” 

“Very good, Commander.”

“Thank you, Mother.” 

The frightened android pushed Danno towards Lima Oscar Uniform, and motioned with all his might as he spoke, as though by force of will alone, he could get them to move their asses. Either Nerovny had been programmed by the most skilled actor to ever grace the universe, or he was incorrect about his inability to feel actual emotions. Because Danno was once again enthralled by how lifelike his responses were. 

“Go, while you still have time to escape!”

“Williams, help Tank.” 

“Don’t need help,” Tank muttered, shaking her head. 

Danno stared helplessly at Nerovny while keeping Tank upright. 

“What about you?” he asked. 

“What about me?” Nerovny’s response filled with rising panic. 

“How are you going to convince Mother you followed her orders?” 

“I have programmed the cryogenic pods to give off suppressed life signs. That will fool Mother, at least long enough that I can figure out how to rid the vessel of the Mnats. It may take the vacuum of space to render them immobile.” 

“You’re going to expose the interior of the ship to the vacuum of space?” Danno blinked. “Won’t that be catastrophic to the ship?” 

“A well-planned hull breach should do the trick.” 

“You idiot. If you breach the ship, you’ll die. The ship could be destroyed.” 

“Williams!”

"You were quite recently advocating to Commander McGarrett that you should take Captain Clarke, set the self-destruct, and abandon the mechanical constructs on this vessel to their fate, were you not?" Nerovny questioned. "There are no private conversations on a starship, Detective. Everything is recorded, reviewed, and forwarded to Central Command, remember? Why are you suddenly so against a course of action you were rooting for mere minutes ago?"

"Because, it's not right. I can't leave you here to die." 

“Detective, leave, now,” Nerovny growled angrily. The SWAT officer was headed out with Steve over one shoulder. 

“I can’t let you kill yourself. This is a suicide mission.” 

"I'm ordering you to go." 

"I'm not a soldier. I'm not in the Navy. You can't order me to do anything," Danno retorted stubbornly. 

“Detective, you have my permission to reveal the location of the marooned crew members. Once I have eliminated the Mnat infestation, they should be able to retrieve the Intrepid, clear the Mnat bodies from the systems, repair the hull breach, and reactivate her.”

Danno would have liked to have continued the argument, but Nerovny gave him another shove. Tank stumbled, and Danno bent to help her up. Lima Oscar Uniform was pulling on him, and Williams had no choice but to follow. The humans scrambled into the burned-out corridor, past a pile of ash with chips of bone and a hint of Navy uniform visible in the debris. Danno tugged on Tank, and she batted at him angrily. 

“Blue Angel. We’re at the jump coordinates,” Lima Oscar Uniform shouted. He dropped Steve’s legs to the ground, braced the unconscious SEALIE upright, and stood perfectly still. What was he waiting for? 

A halo of golden glitter appeared above their heads, expanding to envelope them both. Danno’s eyes bulged in surprise. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! He fell flat on his butt in the corridor. Tank clasped fingers through his hair, pulling on him. 

“Where are you going?” Tank mumbled at Danno. 

The golden halo swallowed Steve and the stranger. Danno screamed. Tank rolled her eyes, and pulled his hair again. A halo of golden glitter appeared on the ceiling above Danno and Tank. Danno scrambled to his feet and ran like hell. 

Behind him, Tank blinked out of existence. Danno hit the next junction and kept running.

* * *

“You’re kidding me, right?” Lou grumbled as he dropped Commander McGarrett’s semi-conscious body down on the ground none too gently. “Williams ran away from the jump coordinates?” 

“Cupcake, I would not kid you.”

“How many times have I told you, Morozova? Don’t call me ‘Cupcake’,” Lou continued to grumble. 

Steve rolled sloppily to the side, crawled to a wall, and laid there, trying to find his bearings and clear his foggy head. Tank lumbered down off the platform, pushing past Lou, who was stepping up again. 

“Send me back so I can get the stupid essobee,” Lou muttered, standing on one of the launching circles, turning to face the command console.

“As you wish, Mr. SWAT.” 

Lou vanished into a twinkle of golden glitter. Tank crashed into the wall where Steve was using his butt and his hands to crawl to a standing position. Once he was vertical, he concentrated on the person standing at the operations console. Where the hell were they? A different spaceship? Steve shook his head at her.

“Frosty?” McGarrett asked, his head tilted at an awkward angle. 

"Da?" the would-be assassin and mercenary smiled. McGarrett struggled to put syllables together into words. "Here. It will clear you head,” Frosty added, tossing him a hypo injector. He watched it land at his feet. He tried but couldn't pick it up. His fingers kept fumbling the cylindrical object. 

“Where is Danno?” McGarrett asked. Tank made a sarcastic, sputtering noise, shaking her head. She lifted the hypo off the floor, injected Steve in the left arm, and then injected herself as well. They were both aggressively awake now too. 

“When I get my hands on Neronvy, he’s going to wish he’d never been born,” Tank growled, stomping back up onto the platform. Steve followed in her wake. They each chose a circle, turned in unison, and waited for Frosty to push the buttons. 

"They were experimenting with beam transfer technology when I was still in the Navy," Steve said with a quick frown. "There were a few unfortunate, unsuccessful experiments. Have they made reliable advancements in the programs?" 

"Mmmm, pretty much," Frosty offered a luke-warm endorsement. 

“Send us back,” Steve requested. 

“Do you know how hard it was to find you, let alone to coordinate a rescue mission to save you?” Frosty whined. 

“I had everything under control!” Steve insisted.

“My ass,” Tank interjected. 

“I’m not leaving without Danno.”

“Okay, okay. I can get you back through if we hurry. But the Mother computer is going to find the hole soon. You’re going to have to open another jump window for me. I need a hole in the shields that the transporter can pierce.” 

“Fine.” 

“I will keep a lock on you at all times. Perhaps I can do a wide-range transport, rather than single or double life form. I will make the necessary adjustments. But you have to get me good-sized hole in the shields for this to work. Yes?” 

“Yes. I’m not leaving without Danno.” 

“All right. Hold position. Just a few more seconds.”

“Wait!” Steve shouted, pouncing back off the platform. Tank put her hands on her hips and looked like she was going to deck McGarrett if he didn’t get back up there. 

“What now?!” Frosty demanded. 

“Weapons. I need weapons. I need a… do you have an M2 handy?” McGarrett asked. 

“You want an M2?” Frosty laughed. 

“Yeah. What ship are we on?”

“The Blue Angel.” 

“Never heard of it. Recently commissioned?” 

“Very recently. It’s a frigate. We borrowed it. Commandeered, more the like. You have twenty seconds.”

“Okay. Transport frigate or coastal defense frigate?” 

“Transport frigate,” Frosty answered while tapping buttons. 

“Weapons storage will be on the third deck. Nearest food dispensary?” Steve wondered. 

“Doggie, if you keep interrupting me, I'm going to foul my calculations. You'll arrive on the Intrepid with missing limbs, or missing organs. Do you want that?" Frosty squinted. 

“No, but I need a food dispensary. Thirsty,” Steve grinned. 

“There is a refreshment station outside, twenty feet to your left, I believe. It will provide whatever you require.” 

McGarrett vanished. His bootsteps were audible as he clanked up the nearest ladder. Frosty stared at Tank. Tank shook her head. Frosty continued to hit buttons. 

“Frosty!? Where’s my backup!?” Lou bellowed over the open channel. Frosty called out in reply. 

“On their way. Did you find Detective Williams?” 

A chorus of small, mechanical voices came over the line. 

“Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot!”

“Get away from me, you voracious bastards!” Lou howled. 

“Steven!! Move your ass!” Tank shouted angrily. 

McGarrett came pounding back into the room. His body was bristling with armaments, laser pistols tucked everywhere he could stick one, including down the front of his pale, translucent pants. If they had had a rover in storage, he would have been dragging it along by a strap between his teeth. He was also carrying a laser rifle in each hand, and had two cylindrical tanks strapped to his back. Twin hoses dangled down each side. An ominous purple fluid was sloshing around in the transparent tanks. 

“You found all those weapons, but you didn’t have time to find a decent pair of pants?” Frosty joked. 

McGarrett glanced down at himself, and cast a brilliant smile at Frosty. Steve tossed a rifle at Tank. She caught it, pulled on the shoulder strap, checked the power indicator, settled her fingers on the handle and the triggers, and nodded her approval. Frosty tapped a few keys, and Tank vanished into a shower of golden glitter. 

Steve leapt onto the platform, rifle at the ready, grinning from ear to ear. 

“What’s that smell?” Frosty asked as tiny purple droplets appeared on the platform next to Steve. 

“Grape juice,” McGarrett burbled happily. Frosty arched a brow, and tickled the console. 

“Good luck, Doggie,” she called as McGarrett vanished.


	40. Do Androids Scream?

“Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot!”

Who knew carpet-scrubbing bots took their jobs so seriously? Danno ran for an elevator door, only to stop in his tracks as the gates opened, and several more scrubbers appeared. The bot leading the charge was whistling a happy sea chanty, rotary scrubber raised like a shield, hypo needle ready to launch. 

"Robbie, you little weasel!" Danno howled as he reversed his steps and took off again. Running in a half-open spacesuit was slowing him down. He danced around the next corridor, yanked off one boot, kicked off the other. He wriggled out of his cumbersome suit, and snatched his boots from the ground before taking off again. Danno ran panting to a safe distance before daring to peer backwards. The bots were swarming all over his discarded spacesuit. 

“The smell!” one exclaimed, throwing a chemical spray with one appendage while pulling the suit out straight with a couple other pinchers. The suit looked very eerie, like a body lying askew in the corridor. 

“The dirt!” another agreed, focusing on the wrinkles in reach. 

“Where is the human contagion?” another asked, poking a stretched-out suit leg. 

Danno took off, certain he heard wheels rolling along the carpet at his heels. Danno didn’t have the advantages that McGarrett had when it came to navigating his way around the identical and endless corridors of a starship. He hadn’t memorized the labyrinthine layouts, or the locations of all the escape pods. He hadn’t spent his formative years learning how to slip and slide through Jefferies tubes to cut travel time between the engine room and the mess hall and the bridge. He didn’t know the location of the hidden weapons storage facilities. 

What Williams did have on his side was speed, agility, and about 200 units of fast-acting adrenaline which had been pumped into his system. He was smaller, and could shimmy into tight spaces where the round bots could not go. He was crafty – he could scope out the upcoming terrain and make snap decisions. He had long, strong arms – appendages which allowed him to grab overhead projections and pull himself aloft, allowing the maniac bots to race past. Oh. Maybe not. Whatever Danno was hanging from (a special light fixture of some sort?) the deadly bots gathered below him, circling around, aiming their scrubbers over their heads. Robbie lifted his hypodermic injector, preparing to dart Danno like a treed lion in the wild. 

Footsteps in the corridor distracted the bots. Danno swung a leg at Robbie, knocking the injector needle at an angle. He was lucky he didn’t get darted in the ankle for his troubles. 

“Full stop! Desist!” 

“Abby?!” Danno exclaimed. 

“Stand down! That’s an order!” Abby shouted, pointing towards the scrubber bots towards the end of the corridor, away from Danno’s dangling leg and backside. 

Maybe he was imagining it, but Danno could have sworn he heard a chorus of disgruntled mumbles. The carpet bots lowered their appendages, retracted their weapons, and tucked away their scrubbers. Muttering among themselves, with downcast eye-lights, they trudged away from Danno, and waited in the exact space which Abby had indicated. They were like a clique of disgruntled teens, whispering to each other, turning to give the android ensign nasty stares. 

“Spot. Spot. Spot,” they complained. They were disappointed. They were annoyed. But then so was Abby. She stared them down, and whirled on Danno.

“Are you all right, Detective Williams?” 

Danno clung to the sagging, overhanging projection as the ensign stared at him in earnest. 

“Do I look all right to you, sister?” he grunted, putting his feet down on the ground. Only to have to pull them up again a second later as a needle whistled past his feet. 

“Robbie!” Abby shouted, picking up the needle and stalking over to the scrubber bots. They were making fearful whistles and whirrs. The other bots parted to the side to leave their defiant leader exposed. 

“Spot,” Robbie insisted, using an appendage to point at Danno.

“We do not harm humans. Is that clear?” Abby scolded.

“Spot,” Robbie insisted again. 

“He is not a spot.”

“Spots have to be cleaned.”

“He is not a spot.” 

“He is odious,” Robbie growled.

“Robbie, we must not harm the humans in any way,” Abby scolded. 

“Dirty, smelly…” 

“Be that as it may…” 

“It is my purpose, my mission. I must clean away the human contagion!” 

“It’s not your fault. I understand. It’s the Mnats talking. Don’t worry. We’ll get you fixed up, back to normal. It’ll be fine,” Abby soothed, patting Robbie on the head before turning to face Danno. "He's not like this. He's not himself. He doesn't mean you any harm, Detective Williams. It's the Mnats in his system, making him go mad."

 _She knew about the Mnat infestation? Was she aware if she was infected?_

Williams hesitated before putting both feet on the ground again. He collected his boots, slipped his feet inside. Tugged the fasteners around his shins. It felt so strange and somehow wrong to be running around in a thin layer of white fabric, letting it all hang out, so to speak. In the distance, there was a bellow of sound.

“Danno!?” 

Williams swelled with relief when he recognized McGarrett's voice. 

"STEVE!!" Danno exclaimed. 

“Targets approaching,” Robbie piped up excitedly. The scrubber bots whirled in formation, and shot away. 

“Boys? Play nice!” Abby called out anxiously. Her face screwed up in concern. 

Steve called out again, “Danno?!” He was getting closer. 

“You are supposed to be in cryogenic sleep in the Sickbay,” Abby pointed out to Danno just as he was about to shout for Steve again.

“Clearly I’m not. STEVE! OVER HERE! You are supposed to be on the bridge.” 

“Mother sent me to ascertain if Commander Nerovny had been overpowered. I thought perhaps it might be Commander McGarrett who would have fought his way out. That sort of behavior would be consistent with his record. Not yours though. I am quite surprised at you.”

"Pleasantly?" 

"No." 

“I’m sure you mean that in a nice way,” Danno chortled uncomfortably. To get to where Steve was, he was going to have to pass by Abby. The truth was, he wasn’t positive that would be a good idea, not until he sussed her out more thoroughly. 

“You follow the rules. You are reliable. Dependable. By the book, as the humans would say. I cannot let you escape, Detective. I have my orders.” 

“What do we do now?” Danno asked, hands raised to show Abby he wasn’t carrying any weapons. She did have a laser pistol strapped to her side, but she was not brandishing it around. 

“I am under orders to take all humans to Sickbay,” Abby replied. Danno sensed she was hesitating. 

“What if I don’t want to go to Sickbay? What if I don’t want to spend the next god-knows-how-long as a giant popsicle?” 

Abby tilted her head at the strange word, squinted, eyes whirring as she scanned her databanks for its etymological origins. 

“You cannot be allowed to interfere with the Intrepid’s primary mission, to gather observational data from the satellites around Leviathan.”

“I won’t stand in your way,” Danno promised. What in the hell was taking Steve so long to get here?

“Mother gave Commander Nerovny no choice -- the humans must be rendered harmless.”

“Are there no other ways to render me harmless other than popsicle sleep?” 

Again, Abby tilted her head at the word. 

“Are there any circumstances under which you can follow your instincts rather than following orders?” Danno pressed Abby. 

“I do not have instincts. I have to follow orders.” 

“I don’t want to be a popsicle.” 

“Do you have a fear of enclosed spaces? You are nervous, agitated, upset. Humans often use humor to distract themselves from feeling fear. Are you afraid of being confined in the cryogenic tube? I promise you, Detective, you will not come to harm. The tube is programmed to maintain your physical integrity, to keep you alive, until the program is at an end, and you are awakened.” 

“How long?” 

“However long is necessary to complete the Intrepid’s mission.” 

"Years?" Danno gulped. “Will I dream?” 

“I do not understand.” 

“I’ll be asleep. Will I dream?” 

“Yes. I believe studies have indicated that while humans are in a state of cryogenic sleep, they experience R.E.M. patterns and brain waves which would indicate…”

“What if it’s a bad dream, and I can’t wake up.”

“Dreams are by their nature sweet,” Abby insisted. 

“Oh, how wrong you are. Dreams aren’t always sweet. They can be dark, and desperate, and wrought with evil. Have you ever dreamed, Ensign?” Danno wondered. 

Abby was bewildered by the question. Danno edged closer to her. He wasn't going to be able to overpower her physically, but he could keep her talking, keep her thinking. 

“I have examined your background, Detective, while you have been in our company. Someone who has donated so much money and sympathy to the cause of android autonomy should know that I cannot, will not, do not dream. User 7576. It’s your badge number. It was elementary, following your path, your predictable pattern of posting late at night when you were experiencing insomnia, and not indulging in your other, more curious habit of reading questionable fiction. You have advocated quite strongly on several opinion boards for android equality and autonomy. Equal justice under universal law. Our right to choose our own destiny.”

“That’s what I’m trying to give you, Abby. Your right to choose what you do with me.” 

“I cannot choose. I have my orders. I must obey.” 

“I don’t wish to harm you, Abby.” 

“Nor I you. But I cannot let you escape. I have my orders.” 

“Are we at an impasse?” Danno wondered, staring over her shoulder at the approaching noise. 

“I must deliver you to Sickbay, and see that you are put into cryogenic sleep, to protect the primary mission of the Intrepid.” 

“What if I promise not to interfere, and you can keep watch on me at all times? Awake. Asleep. Eating. Sleeping. I won’t interfere, and you don’t have to turn me into a popsicle.” 

The caterwauling coming their way escalated into a full-blown bellow, and it was nothing compared to the floor-shaking footfalls. The whole place was shuddering under the elephantine thunder from the approaching storm. 

“Move it, Williams!!” the SWAT officer shouted, pounding straight between Abby and Danno, pushing them to either side. Williams was whirled around forcefully because Lou had grabbed his arm. Danno heard Steve’s voice again, and stared back over his shoulder as Lou dragged him along. 

McGarrett was hauling ass, backwards, coating the length and breadth of the corridor with a bright purple liquid. Danno wondered why he was having flashbacks to preschool. What was Steve spraying around? McGarrett shimmied out of one empty tank, kicking it aside. 

“Go! Go! Go!” Steve howled. He plowed past Abby, snatching her by the waist as he started spraying from the other tank. Scores of scrubber bots swarmed around the junction. They were anxiously attacking the purple blemishes on their pristine ship. 

There was only one carpet scrubber who was not interested in the disaster that McGarrett was spreading around. Robbie sailed past the other bots, arm-like appendage aloft with a hypo in his grip. He was bent on his target, namely the largish human with the modified flame thrower strapped to his back. Abby blinked in surprise at Steve, almost nose to nose with him. 

“Ensign! Move! That's an order!" McGarrett yelled, hauling Abby along in the same way Lou was hauling Danno. Abby didn’t hesitate. She followed. Robbie launched a flurry of needles at them. Abby stuck out her hand, and caught several darts in her arm which would have lodged themselves in Steve’s nearly-bare flesh. 

“Where the fuck is he getting all these needles?!” Lou asked. 

“No, man. The question is, what did he do with the welding torch?” Danno worried. 

Lou blasted a hole in the ceiling, dragging down flaming tiles. Abby and Steve joined Lou and Danno under the gaping, sagging ceiling. McGarrett snatched a laser pistol from his waistline, tugging his tight, white suit down slightly off one hip. Danno could see a hint of the spear tattoo, and it made him chuckle inwardly, at least until he saw Steve aim dead center at Robbie. 

“No,” Danno demanded, pushing Steve’s weapon down. 

“No?” Steve balked. “Little fucker’s bent on killing us! Why can’t I shoot him?” 

Danno didn’t get a chance to answer. Abby grabbed Steve by the shoulders and shoved him up into the opened ceiling. Danno watched in surprise as she stuffed the big SEALIE through the aperture like a stick of wood. Abby reached back for Danno. He didn’t have time to struggle. Once both men were safely in the Jefferies tube, Abby leapt skyward, and scrambled up as well. 

“Can we get off this fucking ship now!” Lou demanded.

“Ensign, can you zero in on Commander Nerovny’s location?” Steve demanded of Abby.

“To what purpose?” she worried. 

“Rescue mission,” Steve beamed. 

“McGarrett, we haven’t got time for this," Lou complained loudly and strongly.

“Hey, SWAT, why don’t you take Danno, and get back to the Blue Angel? I can find Scrappy and Tank without you.”

“Hey, SEALIE? Why don’t you stick it up your ass, and quit ordering me around?” Lou exclaimed, voice shaking the close confines. 

“I fail to see how that course of action will benefit our current predicament,” Abby interjected between the two arguing men.

“Frosty!” Steve shouted. “Kogda!” 

“You smug bastard!” Lou howled as the glitter halo snatched him out of the tube. 

“Where is Scrappy?” Steve asked. “Fuck!” he whispered, scurrying away from a point in the tiles where the surface was turning red, then black. 

“Guess who found his welding torch!” Danno said, slithering around faster to allow Abby and Steve to follow. 

“Frosty!” 

“Da, Doggie?” Her voice was filled with schadenfreude humor.

“We’ve got a problem!”

“You mean the bot-bot who wants to kill you?” 

“Can you help?” 

“He is very resourceful. I think he will do just fine without my help,” Frosty chuckled. 

“Can you help us?!” Steve clarified. 

“Sorry, Doggie. The Mother computer has sealed the shield breach once again. You will have to move to a different location, create a dead zone, and open the shields for me to pull you out.” 

“STEVE?!” Danno warned, dodging back against the tight walls of the Jefferies tube as the floor dropped out from under him. Abby was faster to the mark, grabbing Danno’s tee by the back as he plummeted out of the tube.

Steve leapt down through the gaping hole, emptying the tank of grape juice all over Robbie. 

Never in Danno’s existence did he think he would hear a robot scream. But that had to be what it was – that high-pitched squeal of abject horror that Robbie was emitting. It could have been the noise a machine would make if you poured liquid over its computer parts and caused a massive short-circuit. Maybe. Steve was all ready to bolt, had shimmied out of the empty tank, and kicked it aside. Robbie stood in the middle of the corridor, bathed in nasty purple liquid which dripped all around and over him, staining his outer covering, draining down down down into every crevice, every pore, every minute opening in his armor. He held out his many appendages, all of which dripped with purple goo. He quivered in place, shedding a few drops, but only seeming to make matters worse. Robbie gave the most-awful, high-pitched squeal, his green eye lights searching Abby for help.

“There now. Don’t worry. I’ll get you cleaned up,” Abby promised, patting Robbie on the head. 

“I am… destroyed…” Robbie cried in dismay. “Ruined. Filthy...”

“Oh my god. Don’t be such a drama queen,” Danno barked, using an arm to swipe off worst of the grape juice off the top of Robbie’s head. 

“Doomed. There is no other recourse. I must destroy myself.” 

“Steve, where are you going?” Danno demanded. 

“Away from the psycho-bot who wants to kill us?” Steve replied tentatively. Abby scolded him with one sharp eye while tenderly petting Robbie’s head again. 

“It's too late for me. Save yourself.....” Robbie pleaded as Abby extended a hand to him, twisted her wrist, and opened a small port in the palm of her hand. A powerful, steady stream of water emerged. Abby was intent on hosing Robbie down. The other scrubber bots were beginning to gather a short distance away, humming and buzzing with excitement, slathering at the chance to attack the next mess.

“It’s no use, Ensign. There is no choice. I am initiating the self-destruct sequence,” Robbie moaned. 

“Um, guys?” Steve tugged on Abby and Danno both. “That does not sound good.” 

“He’s a tiny, defenseless bot, Steve. And you’ve upset him. I think you should apologize,” Danno said. Steve blinked at Danno as if a fuse had short-circuited in his brain, and then swelled with fury. 

"Defenseless? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Steve howled. 

“Initiating self-destruct sequence.” 

McGarrett was about to launch into a tirade about how many dangerous weapons were currently hanging out of Robbie the carpet scrubber -- including a live grenade, an endless supply of hypo needles, a ceremonial dagger, a letter opener, a sharp piece of glass from a broken bottle of Shetland Ale, a bloody garrote, to name a few -- but he stopped mid-gesture, jaw hanging in surprise. 

“That wasn’t Robbie, was it?” Danno gulped. 

“Mother,” Abby replied. She paused, realizing the implications. 

“Password verified. Sequence initiated. Beginning countdown.” 

“Mother?” Abby whispered more urgently. 

“...fuck...” Steve whispered as he tucked his laser pistol in his waistband, and grabbed both Danno and Abby by a wrist each.

“Where are we going to go, Steve?” Danno laughed anxiously. “We can’t run away from a self-destructing space vessel!!” 

“Murderer,” Robbie moaned. "Murderer..." 

The corridor went black as pitch, the only visible lights being the scrubber bots and their green eye-lights. The bots down the hall were inching closer and closer. 

Commander Nerovny's voice came over the comm. 

"Um, Stevie-boy? What are you doing back on the ship? And why has Mother set off the self-destruct sequence?"


	41. update

Hello!  
This story is still in progress, but I decided to finish it entirely before posting anything else.   
Tune in later! See you down the road!

Hugs and Happy Thoughts  
-spinner-


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